The 'Slave' of Master Jinx
by BlossomOfCherries
Summary: A girl gets whisked away by a handsome vampire. :]
1. One

Hello! This is a rewrite of Master Jinx's New Slave. You should know, I do not plan this to be a sex story. So if that's what you're looking for, farewell. There will a few or more things different in this story. I would appreciate it if you told me of my grammatical errors! : ]

Chapter One

My eyes flickered open to see the glowing red numbers on my bedside clock. My fists rubbed my eyes and I groaned. The blurriness faded and I could make out the time. _3:14. _I didn't have to wake up for another four hours.

Rolling over onto my side, I closed my eyes. Hopefully, I would be able to fall asleep again. My body twisted beneath the covers, trying to find a comfortable position. The cool sheets from last night had turned into a humid blanket, constricting my body. With a large exhale, I kicked the covers off with my legs and sat up, knowing I would not be able to fall back asleep.

Sitting up, a yawn escaped my mouth. I stretched my arms back and around. My tank top was crinkled up against my skin. My fingers laced around the edges and pulled it down so it covered my whole stomach. Through the window shades, the light from the street lamp was emitted weakly. What little light there was streamed through, weakly. It gave a small flicker, as if it was trying to hold onto life and went out with a buzz.

"Maybe I can finish my paper if I can't fall back asleep." I told myself and pushed myself off the bed. shuffling to the light switch. "It's a good thing I didn't get a roommate."

The light in the middle of the ceiling came on with a buzz and began to warm up, gradually getting brighter. At my desk, my laptop sat compellingly. My feet carried me over to it and I started it up. Its screen lit up. The cursor made a small circle to show it was loading. As I waited, I leaned on the desk and tapped my fingers along the ledge.

Soon, I was sitting at my desk with a bowl of ice cream and a rough draft of the paper that was due in a few hours in hand. My fingers clumsily tapped across the keyboard, causing the words appeared on the screen slowly. Apparently they were misspelled as they were underlined with with a red line. Clicking the backspace, I typed the sentence again with drooping eyes. The red line did not appear this time. By the time I had one-fourth of the final draft on my paper written, I heard a creak. Startled, my body whipped around, searching for the source of the noise. The shades in the window moved slowly, but that was because the air had just been switched on. Turning back to my paper, I stroked the keys once more.

Stopping to take a mouthful of ice cream, the melting treat dripped over my keyboard and integrated itself into the keys. I got up, groaning. There was a roll of paper towels in the closet on top of the mini fridge. The closet doors squeaked open and I winced at the sharp noise. The paper towels were far back in the closet so I had to grasp for the roll. A bottle of water fell beside me as I reached. Finally, I was able to grab the roll of paper towels and rip a few squares off. Setting the paper towels lower down, I placed them on the fridge. I bent down and placed the misshapen water bottle next to it.

With the paper towels in hand, I turned to head back to my desk. My hand wiped over the spill and sucked the mess up as best as possible, the ice cream sticking to the white sheet. Covering a yawn with my free hand, I realized fresh air would do some good for me as it might help me wake up. I could finish my paper when I came back; I still had more than a couple of hours before it was due.

"Save," I said aloud after I had thrown the towel away. I clicked on the file, and then on save. A small box popped up, ready for me to type in. "Psy-cho-log-y Pa-per," The words slowly escaped my mouth as I typed the letters out and hit enter. I closed my laptop and grabbed my phone from the desk.

No one would care if I was wearing a tank top and pajama shorts, right? Though my legs might get chilled with the weather, as it was cool outside. The last few days could not exactly be described as warm. I grabbed a pair of my tight, dark jeans and changed into them quickly, discarding my thin shorts into my closet. Telling my self I would pick them up later, the matter left my mind.

I switched off the annoyingly bright light, grabbed my metallic room key and slowly closed the thick door behind me. I was about to lock it up it when a thought occurred to me that maybe I could get a caffeinated soda. The 24 hour gas station across the street had a vending machine just inside the front door. I went back inside the room, quickly, and took my wallet which contained my money and driver's license.

The key turned in the rusty lock and there was a small click from the side of the door. I pocketed my key in the pocket that wasn't holding my phone, and journeyed down the brown carpeted hallway. The white painted stairwell was dim lit as I walked down the flight of stairs. A big black or brown coloured stain greeted me as I passed over it with tired legs. It had been there since way back when and no one had ever had the decency to clean it up. As expected, there was no one in the lobby when I passed through it, though there was a light on in the corner of the room. Walking across to the doors, I pushed the door open slowly and walked out.

A siege of yawns instantly bombarded me and my eyes watered helplessly after the attack. I sighed and turned my head both ways over the street without really looking and began the travel to the gas station across the road. The black pavement was cool to my bare feet, sending a shiver through my body.

"Oh... I forgot shoes." I frowned. Well, whatever. I would be quick. As I expected, the coolness helped my body to begin the process of actually waking up.

A loud honking distracted me. Stopping with shock as a Ferrari came to a screeching halt before me, my eyes widened. A tall man got out the car with anger. He slammed the car down behind him and he strode over to me. Not moving, I watched him. What was I doing just standing here?

"Can I help you?" I asked him, not really conscious of what I was doing.

He towered over me, and I looked into his eyes. They were the most particular colour of red. "You're a crazy woman! What are you doing in the middle of the road?"

I tilted my head, looking at him oddly. "Going to the gas station?

His eyes examined me, looking from my head to my feet, and then up again. I straightened up at his look, for something about him gave me goosebumps. I rubbed my eyes and yawned again. How embarrassing. His deep voice soothed my nerves and made me feel even drowsier. "Yes, and can I help you?" Was he answering my first question?

I smiled, "I suppose I might need some." The next thing I saw was a swoosh of blackness and then everything faded from existence.

My head lolled forward without comfort. I creaked my eyes open and lifted my head up. Where was I?

A familiar figure strode into my field of vision before I could examine my whole surroundings. Glancing into his face, I examined the face of the man. Was he perhaps from one of my dreams? I couldn't place why his face was so familiar. "You're awake." His mouth moved slightly.

"Wha-?" His movements interrupted me. Crouching down in front of me, his fluid fingers held my chin up. I blinked at him, staring back at him. "Where am I?" He fingers climbed to my cheeks and held me there. He wiggled his fingers, pushing my lips forward and out.

"This is my home."

I pulled my head back and painfully hit my head on a cold stone wall. I noticed my skin was freezing and the floor was insanely cool. I shivered. "It looks real comfortable."

He smiled at me, a twinkle in his eye. "This is my dun- basement, I don't live down here."

With a hand on the back of my head, I asked the young man. "So do you care to explain to me why I am here?"

"Well, last ni-" He started calmly, explaining.

"Holy crap! I never finished writing my paper!" I jumped to my feet and heard a clinking noise. I looked around and then noticed that there was an extra weight around my neck. I brought my fingers to my neck and felt around it. The thick metal band encompassed my whole neck.

"I would prefer to not be interrupted." He stood up as well, towering over me like the man from the road.

I looked at him, frightened. He seemed satisfied that he had my attention. "You will not have to worry about your paper." I opened my mouth to question him, but he brought his finger to my lips to shush me. "As I was telling you, last night I brought you here. You should remember at least meeting me. You were knocked out for most of the ride, sleeping."

I shut my eyes for a moment, bringing recent memories back to me. "Oh, you were the guy in the nice car?" He nodded with a smirk. "You kidnapped me!" I accused, jumping back and hitting the wall with my head, once again. "Ouch," I whispered, clutching at the hair on the back of my head.

The muscular man straightened me out. "I did not kidnap you; I distinctly remember that you came with me willingly."

"So you took advantage of me." Accusing words left my mouth, and I realized that I probably had not resisted very much. After all, he was not that bad looking. "It was four in the morning, I wasn't in my right mind." I frowned, agitated.

He did not seem bothered at all. Leaning over, he put his hands against the wall, trapping me. "It was not very smart of you to be walking across the street like that. What if I had run you over?" His hot breath warmed my skin, and surprisingly smelled like fresh mint. He must have just brushed his teeth.

Then I was reminded to defend myself against him. "I did look both ways..." It did not come out as strong as I would have liked. As I studied his face, I realized that he was quite handsome. Even if he did have oddly dark red eyes.

He laughed, and then stated caustically."That's what it looked like to me."

"I'm sorry, I was tired!" I exclaimed, backing up into the wall more. His closeness was starting to get to me.

"That doesn't save your life, and you would do well to remember that in the future." He pulled away from me.

I watched him walk away slowly and exit through a door on the far wall. I crept after him and tried to open the door. It would not budge no matter how hard I pushed or pulled on it. There was a door a few yards away from it, though. Curiosity took the best of me and I walked up to it. Unlike the other door, this one was wooden and seemed slightly worn down. I pulled on the door's handle and it gave away. For a brief second, I wondered what wold await me on the other side.


	2. Two

Hello again! As you have seen, it will not be exactly like the original but still follows it vaguely. Roxy and Jinx are also a bit different from the original, but I hope you still enjoy it. Jinx will still have all his feminine-like mood swings, don't worry. Aha. If you see spelling or grammatical errors please inform me. Thanks!

**Chapter Two**

A set of stairs going down confused me, I had expected either a hallway or a staircase that led up. After all, he had said that I was in his basement. "He never even told me his name." I grumbled to myself as I walked down the wooden beams. To call them stairs would be a lie. If normal stairs were the size of a large Popsicle stick, then these stairs were a very skinny and anorexic toothpick that someone had chewed on repeatedly. They protested loudly as I clobbered my way down then, even if I was fairly light, my footsteps told otherwise. "Why would he leave me alone in a place like this? He could at least have the decency to drive me home."

I groaned, at the end of the 'staircase' was a slighter nicer door. On the other side of the door it sounded like a kitchen, there was the sound of pots and pans being banged upon and I heard the voices of women. I pushed the door open a crack and peered out. The world of loud noises I had known before seemed relatively quiet to the clatter of the new room before me. I held my hands to my ears as I saw just how large this kitchen was. Women were rushing to and fro, carrying pots from one wall to the other.

"Beatrice I need another three cups of that!" A woman close to me exclaimed to a small girl over the racket. I watched as the girl reached for a container and handed it to the woman and then took it back in her petite hands. I looked around like a lost child, which was mostly accurate but I was not a child. At 22 years old, I had always felt more mature than all of the other women in the dorms surrounding mine at college. All they ever did was get drunk and barely pass their classes. That was besides the point right at this moment, though.

All of the women were wearing black maid dress with white aprons. "So uniform..." I breathed, amazed. So uniform, but so old fashioned.

I tried to catch the eye of any woman who passed by me. "Excuse me-", "Miss-", No matter how hard I tried they all just scurried on past me completing their tasks. I sighed and leaned against the wall. Even if I did go back down into the basement, I would just be cold and not find anything. The thought of being stuck down there did not suit me.

Then an idea struck me, perhaps I could just find my own way out of this place. I moved forward into the flow of women, looking for another door to exit through. Surely they would have to bring all the food they were making out some door to a large dining room. From there I should be able to find the front door and then make my leave, correct?

I finally spotted a dark door on the far side of the room that looked promising, but I was hustled off into another direction by the flow of the women. As I was trying to escape, I caught the eyes of a stern looking woman. I cringed, even though her sternness was not being pointed at me, and looked away.

"You girl!" I looked up at her again, which was my mistake. "Yes, you, come here." Her voice was razor sharp to my ears and the shrillness of it sent a shiver through my bones.

I struggled to make my way through the surge of women, pushing my way through them. She pulled my aside and looked at me. "Did Master Jinx send you here?"

"Wha-? Who's Master Jinx?" I certainly was not sent here by anyone, and who the heck was Master Jinx?

She frowned at me, her brown hair was held back tight into a large bun on the back of her hair. Unlike all of the other women there, she was wearing a long brown dress. "Who is Master Jinx? Who is Master Jinx?" She cackled. "Well, little girl, he is only the master of this whole mansion! You should know who he is."

Wow, he must be pretty powerful. If he has _this_ many maids, just imagine how huge this place must be! "I'm sorry," I apologized, not meaning it. "I don't know who he is. I was just brought here by a man and left in that room over there." I pointed to the approximate area of where I was left and where I entered this room.

She drew herself up high. "Well then, would you mind describing this man to me?" An air of attitude emitted around her, as if she felt the need to prove she was better than me.

I rubbed my chin and close my eyes temporarily as I always did when I thought. "He was much taller than me, perhaps by a head or so. He did not look like he was past 25, and his hair was a dark brown." I paused, knowing he had some distinctive quality about himself. "Oh! He also had the strangest eyes ever. They were a dark red colour."

The lady began laughing, at me I supposed. "Are you telling me, that Master Jinx brought you to this place and left you in a room in the direction?" Crisply, she spoke to me.

"So that was Master Jinx." I wondered aloud. "Why are you laughing?"

"I hope you don't expect me to believe that. He wouldn't be interested in a small girl like you. Master Jinx is a very distant and cruel man. He would never bring a girl like you into this place." She caught her breath, "Just because of the absurdity of your story though, I suppose that I will have to bring you to a room myself." She seemed like she felt threatened by me, almost as if she thought she had claim on the man. The thought was absurd. Who would want an old hag like her?

The room she led me to was small and there was a grimy little bed in the corner. In the other corner, that was a spider web that stretched wide across the two walls. The tops of the walls were darkened, perhaps by mildew. "I won't be able to sleep in here..." I looked at the woman who had led me to this very room with surprised eyes.

She laughed. "Nonsense! This is one of the best rooms we have, the other girls will be envying you." My gut told me to not believe her, and I hoped she was lying. If the rest of the women here had even worse rooms than this... No they couldn't. "There should be an uniform for you in the closet, when you have changed come out and help us prepare for the feast."

I watched as she left, stunned. My fingers pinched my skin. I definitely had not expected to turn up in a, well whatever this place was. Inside of the closet, there was an old and dusty black uniform with a white apron. I groaned at the sight of it and made sure the door was shut before I even thought of changing. "How ever did I even get into this situation?" Muttering, I yanked the uniform off the hanger.

Quickly, I changed into the maid dress and smoothed it out. I put the front of the apron around my back and tied it in front, making a nice bow. Twisting it, I brought it around so it was on the correct way. Sighing, I patted off the dust from the apron's front. I really was putting myself down by wearing this.

On the bed where I had set my jeans and tank top, I pulled my wallet and phone out of my jeans's pocket. In the dress I was wearing, I found a pocket in the side that fit between the ruffles of it. I slipped my wallet in carefully and made sure it was in there safely. Before placing my phone in there with it, I turned it on silent.

It was at that point that I realized I could call my mother, or the police and ask them to pick me up. After all, my phone was full on battery as I had just charged it before I had left for the night walk.

"This is my chance," I breathed to myself and started dialing _9_ before I saw that I had no signal at all. A little 'x' stood in the corner of the screen. "Great," I said with caustic tones lacing my voice. "Oh well." I turned it off so I would not waste its juice and slid it into the pocket.

I would be back for my clothing.

Exiting the room cautiously, for no reason at all, I closed the door softly. There was a dull number etched on the door. _017_. It would do me good to have that number stuck in my mind.

A young maid down the hall caught sight of me and motioned for me to come. "You can help us set the tables, young girl. You're pretty enough to wait on the men." Young girl? I was definitely older than her! Realizing good manners would get me farther than bad ones. I nodded to her, showing I understood.

"You may as well as tell me your name, your face is not familiar to mine eyes." Mine eyes? She ushered me down the hall and back into the kitchen where the loud noises were are prudent as ever. I would not be surprised if half the women in there were deaf.

"Roxanne," I told her.

"Talk louder, girl. My ears are not what they used to be." Her looks showed that she was in her early teenage years, so her hearing would not be going bad from natural causes. She must spend a lot of time in the kitchens.

"My name is Roxanne, or Roxy for short." I shouted to her.

Apparently, this time she heard me. "Roxanne, I am Meredith. If anyone refers to Sir Longwood's slave, that is me." It seemed that Sir Longwood held a high status in the mansion, or local community as she was very proud as she said it.

"It is nice to meet you Meredith." I told her, if indeed she was the servant, or slave as she had said she was, of someone with high status, it would be in my best interest to be on her good side.

"Likewise," She responded and turned to face me, her skirt puffing up as she spun around to face me. "Go on now, set the table. You will report back to me when you have finished your task with the other girls."

The dining was huge. Gigantic. Massive. The ceiling reached for heights, and a large crystalline chandelier dangled from a long golden chain. A long wooden table filled the middle of the room and gorgeous table decorations spotted the table and its fancy white cloth.

"If I was eating at this table, all I would be able to think about is not spilling on it." I told another maid whom I assumed I was working with.

All she gave me was a curt nod before she carried a large stack of plates to the table from the cart we had brought it. Was she being rude or did she just want to get the job done quickly and efficiently? I moaned to myself and grabbed a set of china plates identical to the stack the other girl had grabbed. I set them before one elegant wooden chair on the perfectly made table cloth. If I ever dropped or broke one of the plate I suspected it would take a lifetime of work to pay off. There was gold engraving around the edges of the plate and a faint design of an off white colour covered all of the plates, like thin veins.

I took the top plate off gently and set it on the next table spot. The task took several long minutes before my stack was down, though if they had been normal plates it would have gone by faster. Treating the plates like a precious crystal seemed like the best way to not drop them.

Other maids were setting out silverware and plates along the rest of the table. The maid I had been with was starting on setting out glasses, placing them upside down on the table as she set out. I watched her with an eagle's eye as she worked. She would go to the cart and grab only two glasses before placing them very carefully at the table.

As I mimicked her movements, I picked up two crystal clear glasses. I brought them to the table and sat them beside the plates upside down, as she had done. It must be so that dust would not settle in them before they were filled with liquid.

The whole process of setting the table took quite a long time, though it did not surprise me. All of the utensils, plates, glasses and the rest of the lot were all very nice, and the table was extremely long. The whole racket in the kitchen made sense to me now. I sighed a sigh of relief. I was done working now. Resting against a wall, I closed my eyes and then was reminded of Meredith asking me to report to her after I had finished. A young girl whom resembled Meredith walked past me in one of the black and white uniforms.

I hurried down to the odd elevators we had taken to reach the dining room. Another woman in there with me pressed a button I did not see, but I assumed that it led back down to the level I had previously been on.

Meredith was waiting with a small group of women when I arrived. "Wonderful, we have just enough people now. This will your first time attending." She addressed the group as a whole. "I realize that we should not let this be your first party to serve at, but we are running low of our supply of women fit for the job."

Fit for the job? As long as the person was not clumsy they could serve food to a group of people. Running a scan over the faces, I realized that almost everyone had a beautifully clear face. Meredith went over several topics before bringing us up to the dining room to show us how and when we would come and serve food or refill drinks for the guests.

The walls were covered with a maroon, gold, and white wallpaper that I had not noticed before in the dining room. I glanced upwards, to take notice of the ceiling. The trims were very old fashioned but everything seemed to be kept up very well. It must be a struggle cleaning a ceiling that rested so high above everyone else; a tedious job, indeed.

"Ladies, we will recede into the neighboring room now. Hurry, the guests will be arriving soon and we do not want any casualties." Meredith clapped her hands together and herded us in a room that adjourned the monstrous dining room.

The room we were brought into was much smaller, but it accommodated us all. "After all the guests have arrived, you will be taking the trays of food out and setting them on the table. As for you women in the back, you will be filling the glasses." She told us. "Be careful to not spill the drinks, ladies. The guests will get very upset." Her voice turned deadly and serious. Ending on a dead note? I shivered, glad I would not be pouring drinks. What was so scary about pouring the drinks?

We heard the guests arriving pretty quickly, and the commotion outside grew. It never reached a loud level though; they were quiet guests. Perhaps we had over estimated how many people would be arriving?

Suddenly, I was handed a platter and the door to the dinning room opened. The few people in front of me left, and began setting out the food on the table.

I glanced up and down the room, amazed by how many people there were, and how quiet they were. Almost strange. As my eyes wandered, they caught on a certain someone who was familiar.

The man who I had been informed was Master Jinx, also known as the man who almost ran me over, was sitting at the head of the table. He caught my eye, almost as if he was telling me to come to him, and I immediately carried my tray over to that end of the table. Had I shaven my legs recently? Oh my, what if I hadn't and he could see hair or even my stubble? There was definitely stubble on my legs. My knees began to feel like jelly. The thought of why I should care never even occurred to me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me with narrowed eyes as I sat the large dish of food down on the table, next to his place.

**If you like, review! Thanks~**


	3. Three

Chapter Three

"If anything, you should know. You brought me to this place, remember?" I reminded him, placing my hand on my hip, a little ticked off.

A man who was sitting next to him perked up, and glanced over at the two of us. Jinx sighed. Relaxing, and looked at me as I sat the platter down on the table.

"Would you go to my room and wait there until this feast is over? It might be a few hours, but it would save me some sweat." He held my gaze. It would be nicer to be there, even if it was a strange man's room, than in here serving food. "I don't know where it is," was my only response.

Quickly, he gave me directions on how to get there from the dining room. Getting my jeans and tank top came first, then going to his room. I nodded to confirm that I would go to his room and wait for him.

"You have to get out of here now though, and you cannot come back in here tonight, do you understand?" He spoke very seriously and quietly, just loud enough so I could understand.

"Yes," I suddenly felt scared. Why was he so apt to get me out of the room? As I left the room hurriedly, I noticed that all of the glasses were filled or being filled with a thick red fluid. I frowned, there must be at least one person that would prefer water to the wine or whatever it was. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Meredith giving more orders to the serving girls. I hoped that she would not see me leaving and come after me. Sliding out of the large door and around the corner, I ran down the hall as quietly as possible. The wooden floor seemed to go on forever, as if I would never reach the elevator at the end.

Just as I got to the doors, they opened, revealing the empty lift. I stepped inside and looked over the list of buttons. When I had last gone down, the woman had clicked one of the lower buttons. "Which one is it?" I asked myself jumpily. There were too many choices!

Just then, another girl appeared in the hallway. Yelling down to me, "Would you be a doll and press 'K' for me?"

Poking my head out, I was surprised that she had seen me. "Yeah, sure." Maybe the 'K' button meant Kitchens.

The button lit up as I pressed it in and held the door open for the girl. She slipped in next to me. "Thanks darling." Her height startled me greatly. She was quite short, probably in the range of the upper inches in four feet. The doors closed, leaving us in the small room together.

"No problem," I said to her.

She was wearing a light blue-gray dress with an apron not unlike mine. Her auburn hair looked very silky with its odd style of being down with a braid crawling around her head like a head band. We slowly descended, hopefully to the kitchens. I looked above the old metallic doors, to see if there was a dial like there was in most other elevators. There was a long thin line with a white dot moving to the right on it. So right was down, and left was up it seemed.

There was a beep and the elevator stopped smoothly. I let the girl exit first, and I was glad to see that it was indeed the Kitchens' elevator. As I left, I turned to see the doors close. When I turned again, the pretty girl had disappeared completely. I shrugged it off and hurried down to the room that had been given to me.

"Zero, One, Seven. Seventeen." I repeated the numbers to myself quietly, hoping to not forget the room number.

When I reached the incommodious room, I opened the wooden door with a shove. It creaked open, painfully. The house had really shifted since it was built. It was the correct room; my jeans and tank top laid folded on the bed, rather, on the cot. My memory was not as bad as I thought it was. I retrieved them and then left the room.

The way to Jinx's room had quite a few twists and turns. Not to mention, at first I could not remember what button I had to push to reach the right level. When the elevator doors opened to reveal the level that Jinx's room was on, my mouth dropped in shock.

I was in a huge hallway that seemed to go forever in both directions, left and right. This was no hotel hallway either, it was quite large and the ceiling was sculpted just like the one in the dining room, though this one was much closer to the ground. Every few yards there was an alcove with a sculpture or bust in it. I noticed that they were mostly men. Jinx had said that his room was down the hallway and that I could not go down to the dining room, but he never specified a certain time when I should go to his room.

One of the sculptures near to the elevator caught my eye. It was made of a satiny creamy white material like all of the others but something about it drew me in. I lifted my hand up to touch it.

"What are you doing here, little girl?" I turned around with a start. Standing before me was a man in an odd purple jacket, and orange silk shirt.

Putting my hand down to my side, I looked at him curiously. "Who are you?"

Surprisingly, he did not seem agitated that I ignored his question. "Who are _you_?"

"Didn't I ask you first?" A game of questions, I liked it.

It appeared that he did as well, because he was letting a little smile peak through on his face. "Could you not say that I asked you the first question?"

"Are we not talking about the second question then?" I responded in a flash, liking this strange fellow with disarrayed hair.

"Would you believe me if I told you a secret?" He leaned closer to me, right in front of my face. He was much shorter than Jinx, though taller than me still.

I stared into his eyes intently, trying to figure him out. "Are you able to be trusted?"

"Would you be willing to find out?" He came even closer, his light breath mixing with my own. A sudden noise made us both turn our heads towards the elevator. It seemed that someone was arriving.

"Quickly, girl. Come with me." He pulled my hand and half dragged me off into the opposite direction of Jinx's room. I gave a startled cry but when he shushed me, I quieted. As we turned the corner I saw someone getting out of the elevator. The strange man pulled me in a room and silently shut the door.

"What was that for?" I huffed, and panted slightly. The room was dark and I could not see him. The only way I knew he was beside me was the fact that he still held onto my wrist.

"I like to have a little bit of excitement in my life." He dropped his hand slowly from my wrist.

I straightened up and blinked, "Oh."

I imagined him getting close to my face as he said his next words. "Would you be able to tell me just what exactly a maid is doing up here though?"

I was quiet, thinking of what I should say. If I said Jinx had sent me to his room, he might think me off my rocker. "There is something I have to attend to up here."

"I would suggest leaving when you have finished your task." He whispered distantly, as if he had pulled back.

This confused me. "Why?"

He seemed to be looking for the right words to say, as if he was grasping for a certain meaning."Let me just tell you, up here is not very safe for a young, attractive girl like yourself." There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "I'm not just saying that to make you blush."

I breathed out and looked up where I thought his face might be in the dark."I should go now."

"What if the person is still out there?" He asked, his voice playful again as it had been in the hallway.

"Then I suppose that you will have to protect me." I grinned, and moved to open the door.

He held the door knob momentarily. "Wait."

I turned to face him, and was silent.

"Alex." He told me. "My name is Alex."

"Roxanne," I informed him with a smile.

"Farewell Roxanne," He said and let me open the door. The light from the brilliant hallway flooded the room but I paid no attention to the interior of the room.

I watched Alex's face before I fled to the way I had come from. My jeans and tank top had dropped when he brought me into the room. I picked them up and then peeked my head around the corner with caution. There was no one there. I breathed a sigh of relief and headed down the hall quickly, in case someone else appeared and scared me. I had to turn another corner to reach his room, but I finally arrived at Jinx's room. The door was wooden and had his name engraved near the top. In a fancy and somewhat stylish script, it read '_Jinx_'. How enchanting.

I turned the shiny doorknob and enter the dark room.


	4. Four

It's still May 1st ! I probably will not update again today, but who knows? Also, if you see spelling or grammatical errors please inform me.

**Chapter Four**

Light switch. Was there a light switch anywhere? It was extremely dark in here. As I walked in, I closed the door behind me. Stroking the wall with my fingers, I hunted for a switch. My finger suddenly hit something and lights from high up flickered on.

I gasped as I took in all of his room. It was huge! The ceiling was like the one in dining room, very intricate designs pranced upon it and there were the same old fashioned carvings on it. There were two chandeliers that were each half the size of the one in the dining room. A large, solid curtain hung gracefully on the other side of the room. Between it and me there was a ample blue square bed that seemed as if it would be as soft as Heaven. Lush, white pillows laid on the top of it; they looked so soft I was tempted to squish them. To the left of the bed was a small blue velvet couch, or large chair, that sat in front of a fire place. The walls by the unlit fire place were lined with bookshelves that were filled to the brim with all sorts of books.

"Wow," I breathed, amazed. It looked as if the room were pulled from an interior design magazine!

The room had an apparent colour scheme of blue, white, and black; although the colours seemed like they would be cold, the room had a warm atmosphere to it that I couldn't explain. The wood floors were a polished dark brown and I doubted that there was even the slightest chance of getting a silver from it. I wasn't going to try though.. just in case. The bed and couch rested on a white furry carpet. For a man, he either had a very good sense of style or someone designed his room for him. Though I could not imagine that he had that good of a sense of style. The other side of the room had two doors, and a black desk in the corner. One of the walls had a damask pattern; the other walls were a plain dark blue. I was not sure what I thought about that; for, it seemed feminine to me.

I went to the farthest door and slowly opened it to peer inside He would not get mad if I looked around, right? After all, he had invited me up to his room, hopefully in a non-sexual way. The door silently opened up to a bathroom with shiny and clean black walls. I flipped the light switch and suddenly everything seemed much happier and prettier in there. The lights had blue and white shades over the bulbs. The sink was white, as were the other things in there. The wood floor had changed to a cold tile in the bathroom, maybe the tile was heated for cold days like this one?

I realized that I should changed, for I was still in the maid uniform and I didn't want to give Jinx, or rather Master Jinx, any weird ideas. Though I doubted he would get any ideas, for the dress was quite ugly on me. The skirt was all frilly, and the bodice was too tight. What kind of maid dresses even had bodices? The puffed shoulders just made it worse.

Somehow, I worked my way out of the tight outfit and I set it over the sink. My stomach growled as I was just clasping the button on my jeans. I had not eaten since I was taken by Jinx, and food suddenly sounded very good. I worked my tank top on and left the bathroom, leaving the dress in there to die.

I opened the door to the next room and found a closet. To admit, I was being a little bit snoopy, but hey, it was best to play it safe. What if he had some hidden surprises? I wanted to be well informed! I walked in, and looked around curiously. There were clothes on hangers, normal. My feet padded further in. There was a cute, black mini fridge below a stack of folded pants.

"Food!" I exclaimed, reaching to open the door. Opening the door, I was disappointed to only see bottles of liquid. I sat there and stared sadly. "What?" There's no food? "Well, I am thirsty." I took the closest bottle, without really examining it and closed the fridge.

I swished it back and forth in the bottle, it seemed kind of thick not that I could hold it up to the light. Unscrewing the lid, I smelled the drink. The smell was...

"Blood?" I screamed, my hand extended, sending the bottle crashing to the floor. It exploded vividly on the floor and the blood splashed all over the wood floor. Oh crap, this was not good at all!

I ran to the bathroom and hurriedly got a dark towel that was laying out. I raced back to the closet and laid the towel over the floor, wiping and seeping it up with the towel. Why the heck would Jinx have a bottle of blood in his fridge? As I wiped it up, I tried to think about the situation from different viewpoints. There was only one logical reason I could come up with; he must be donating his blood to some place and was saving it up in his fridge until he had a lot of it. But that really, really did _not_ seem to be the case.

Groaning, I picked up the cracked bottle, and brought it and the bloody towel to the bathroom. I started the warm water and set the towel in the bathtub. Washing out the bottle before setting it on the counter, I realized that this was a huge mess. A chill ran through my spine as I watched the towel losing the blood it had gathered as the beat upon it brutally. Wincing, I hoped Jinx would not do the same to me. Of course he wouldn't, he had seemed fairly nice, well actually he had only seemed okay, but surely he would be nice about this.

As least I had cleaned up the blood in the closet before it made too much of a mess, but I realized I should probably wipe the floorboards down with water. I took another towel from the rack I had taken the first from and wet it under the nozzle in the shower.

I rubbed all of the closet floor, to make sure I got all of it up that I could. I would just let it air dry; the floor was not so wet that it would be damaged. Throwing the towel into the bathtub with the other one, I expelled a sigh.

I was lying with my back on the extremely comfortable bed when Jinx walked in, and I did not look up to see him. Continuing to stare at the ceiling, I hoped that he would not notice the mess I had made and almost successfully cleaned up.

"Hello," He said quietly and he shut the door behind him quietly.

I turned my head and looked at him. "Hi."

"I have realized that I did not tell you my name." He sat down on the bed, beside my bare and cold feet.

"I was informed by some maids that your name was Jinx." I told him nervous and sat up next to him. I felt very under dressed as I reclined next to him; he was in a suit of sorts and I was wearing jeans and a tank top. Maybe he felt over dressed compared to me?

"It's Master Jinx." He raised his dark eyebrows at me. They were the exact shade of his hair, a deep, saturated brown.

"Well, Master Jinx, you can call me Roxanne." I smiled at him, not exactly sure of how I felt about calling him Master Jinx verses Jinx.

Quietness overtook the room, as it had been before he entered. "Whats that on your pant leg?"

Oh shit, I tensed up slightly and gripped the bedside. "What?" I did not clean the blood off of my pants, that _would_ be something I forgot to do.

"This," He pointed to the place where the blood had splashed against my jeans.

I looked away, my heart racing. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Roxanne." Master Jinx said sternly. I should not have told him my name yet, I thought with regret.

Smiling sweetly at him and slightly hiding myself, I tried to win him over. "I may have broken something."

"Is that your blood?" He questioned me and he shifted his weight.

"Is it a problem if I say no?" Scratching my head, I wondered what he would do. His body seemed tense and I pulled back from him, scouting to the other side of the bed.

He got up abruptly and walked to his closet. Jinx disappeared into the room and then reappeared very ticked off. His face was dark with anger and malice. "You can be the replacement of that bottle."

"What?" I stared at him unevenly. How would that even work?!

"It's only fair." His words were coated with some feeling I could not understand.

"How on earth am I going to be the replacement of that bottle?" I crawled backwards even more on the bed, away from him.

"Like this," He said, and opened his mouth to reveal two pearly whites that were sharpened to points. My heart rate sped up even faster, if that was possible and I was frozen still with great terror. He advanced on me and was soon hanging over me, tauntingly. He lowered his head to my neck and I gasped as I felt the strangest sensation ever. His fangs slid into my neck's tender flesh, and I screamed, bringing tears to my frightened eyes.

"Stop," I whispered, feeling violated. "Please," I arched my back. No matter how hard I tried to push against his body, nothing happened. It was like trying to move a mountain; impossible. He would not budge no matter how hard I fought. I felt the blood being drained out of my body as he was attached to my throat. Squirming and kicking was futile. I feel a pull from my bellybutton and a tingle that spread throughout my body as he continued sucking.

My line of vision began to fade to black, and I struggled to stay conscious. What I could see soon faded to a small circle, and then – nothing.

"You fainted." Jinx was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at me.

The world came back painfully, and in a rush."You sucked all of my blood out," I gasped quietly, staring at him. There was a throbbing in my head and I hugged myself, rolling over.

He sighed, shaking his head. "You should not have gone looking through my things."

"I was curious as to who had kidnapped me." I brought a hand up to feel my neck. The pads of my fingers slid over the scabbed marks, how had they scabbed over so fast?

"Curiosity killed the cat." He did not deny kidnapping me this time, and it caused a reaction from me.

I felt angry, why did he have a right to take my blood? "Do I look like a cat to you?"

"Not exceptionally." He looked at me and then smiled, revealing his long fangs. "I thought that you would be more surprised." All I could see in his smile were his pearly fangs. The urge to run away tugged strongly at my heart, though I was too terrified of him to move. "You'll be moved from the room that was given to you, I don't think you really had anything in there, though. Even if you did, it's gone now. The woman who placed you did not realize just who you were." He said. That, or she was consumed by jealousy I thought to myself with attitude erupting.

I wanted, no I needed, to return to college. It was my last year and I was almost finished with my courses. "I want to go home." Blurting the words out, I felt stupid.

"Home? Why would you want to go home?" He was puzzled.

Was it only obvious to me? What kind of man, or bloodsucker, was this? "Everyone is probably worrying. I have to finish college"

He said it simply but sternly. "No."

"You almost killed me." I squeezed myself into a tiny ball and looked towards the fire place. Why would he not let me go home?

"I would not have killed you." He said evenly.

"Then you could be nice enough to offer me food." I bit my lip to keep it from wobbling and felt my eyes water. I still felt so violated, even though he hadn't touched my body like that. There was a tingle in my neck.

"I am the master here; you are the slave." He stated, getting up off the bed, presumably to order food for me.

I choked on his words, "Slave?" Should I be outraged that he would dare belittle me like that or should I be laughing at his horrible sense of humour?

"I suppose an exception can be made this time though. You don't look strong enough to go down and get your own food." He opened the door and shut it behind him. 'Master' Jinx had an air of anger around him that made me want to wrap up in a blanket and hide from him.

"I wonder who's fault that is." I whispered to myself and curled up even tighter. The hot tears poured from my eyes and I fingered the holes in my neck. "He's a monster."

It seemed to get colder as the time passed by, so I attempted to start a flame in the fire place. After a few tries, a small orange flame appeared and began devouring the logs inside. I was about to fall onto the couch as I realized I had left my phone and wallet in the dress which I had in the bathroom.

Weakly I made it to the bathroom and grabbed my things from the dress. By the way my legs wobbled, it seemed he took way too much blood from my body. I fell on the couch and put the wallet in my back pocket. I turned on my phone quickly. If he saw me with it, I had a feeling that he would take it away and break it.

The screen lit up and the cell phone service logo appeared. Then my background appeared for only my eyes to see and my phone blinked with two new messages. As soon as they loaded, I anxiously hoped that Jinx, wait, I hoped _Master_ Jinx would take a while to return.

With my long black, it was a really dark brown actually, hair splayed out around me, I read my messages intently. One was from my mother who said something about getting our nails done sometime soon. What if I responded and told her what has happened to me?

"No, if I do that Jinx will kill me before they even arrive." I explained to myself aloud. Somehow he would find out what I had done if I dared to do that. Sending a calm message back to her, I looked at my other message.

It was from a girl who was neighbor at the dorm. She was wondering if I was sick, and why I did not answer my door or go to class that day. I typed a message to her saying that I was going to be gone for a while on personal business, knowing that if I said I was sick they would want to see me, no matter how much I did not like her.

I laid on the couch, staring into the fire when my phone's screen lit up again. Mother had texted back. "Sounds like fun," I read aloud. Then I typed back to her, "Okay. Got to go, I'm pretty tired." I sent it and checked the time.

Was it deceiving me? It was 6 in the morning? Wow, my schedule was totally off. All I wanted to do was eat and then sleep for a very long time.

Tucking my skinny phone into my empty back pocket, I hid it there.

**I enjoy Reviews. What do you think will happen next? :3**


	5. Five

Cattie13 gets all my love because she was the first to review~

Also, are you guys enjoying this? What are the things you like about it and don't like about it so far? Let me know if you like it or not by reviewing. [: Thanks!

**Chapter Five – Will You Not Cuddle?**

Jinx walked in with a tray of food. There was a plate filled with food sitting on it and a glass of ice water. I looked over at him and then back to the dancing flames of the fire. It glowed brightly upon my face, warming me.

"You are at least slightly resourceful then." He said, talking about the fire before me.

I did not respond. I laid there, my fingers protecting my neck. Desperately wanting him to go away and never come back, I remained silent. His company was not needed. He came up to me and set the food on the floor in front of the fire place. Then he sat beside it, in front of my head.

"I'm sorry for taking your blood so suddenly." It was very mumbled, but I understood it all the same.

"'Saying sorry doesn't save your life, and you would do well to remember that in the future'." I quoted him from when we had been in his basement. I did appreciate the fact that he apologized. It did not necessarily fit to the situation, but it was close enough.

He seemed shocked and confused. "What?"

I replied with a yawn,"That's what you told me." He was acting more civil now. How long would that last?

He seemed puzzled."When?" Did he really not remember that?

"When we were in your basement, you told me-" I was interrupted as he shoved a piece of toast in my mouth. I smiled inwardly, he did not want to have his words used against him. I should remember that for the future, my mouth became a smirk.

I ate the piece of toast fast, and my stomach was awakened to hunger. As soon as I had finished, he gave me another piece, probably so I could not talk anymore than needed. This continued on until the plate of food was empty. He handed me the glass of water, which I downed in a flash. Jinx sat on white carpet looking into the fire, transfigured. I was left to stare at him, or at least his hair. He was motionless, not even blinking.

"If I'm not supposed to sleep down in the room I given," I was very thankful for that, believe me. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" How was I supposed to deal with this man if he acted so rashly?

"In here," Jinx said, still watching the fire.

I pondered the thought for a moment, "Sleeping on the couch tonight will not be too bad, though I would prefer a bed. Actually, sleeping at home in my own bed would be even nicer." Was I stretching his small band of patience?

"You won't be sleeping on the couch tonight." I glanced at his face. "You'll be sleeping on my bed."

He was giving up his bed for me? I smiled at him, "Where will you sleep though?

"On my bed," He looked at me.

"I thought I was going to be sleeping there though." I told him softly.

"You are."

I was taken aback, sleeping on the same bed? Then it dawned on me. "You can't be serious."

"You might be surprised at how serious I am." He said, getting up from his seat on the floor.

I wiggled deeper into the velvety couch. "This couch is comfortable enough for me."

But he grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. It was either fall off the couch and land painfully on the floor or follow him. I chose the less painful way, which Jinx seemed to like. He lead me to the bed and sat me there. Slouching over, I let a yawn come out.

"You seemed tired," He commented. Jinx did not have much tact did he?

I nodded though. I crawled to the pillows and laid my head on them. If I could fall asleep now, I would not have to deal with the thoughts of being in the same bed as Jinx. I made myself into the tiniest shape I could and focused on falling asleep. Screwing my eyes shut and blocking all sights out, I regulated my breathing to a slow sleeping pace.

"You seem to have forgotten to get under the covers, Roxie." Jinx said quietly, his voice right beside my ear. I shivered at the mention. "I don't want you to catch a cold now."

Somehow, within the matter of a few seconds, I was underneath the covers and my head was resting on the feather pillows. I heard the flip of a switch. The bright lights in the room disappeared except for the crackling fire place which was hidden mostly by the couch. There was a moment of silence, and then I heard Jinx's soft footsteps.

I opened my eyes, facing the low couch. Unaware of it, I had tensed my body up. The level of the bed changed slightly as Jinx got in next to me. I heard him shifting and pulling the covers over his body. There was the rustle of sheets as he got situated.

"Won't you cuddle with me?" He asked, sounding very innocent.

In response, I shifted away from him. I hardly knew the guy. He had already almost killed me with his car, forced me to sleep in his bed, and now he wanted to cuddle with me?

He feigned hurt as he humphed. "You can get away with that for tonight." For tonight? Was he implying I would be sleeping in here longer than tonight? I would absolutely not go for it. I had almost fallen asleep when he spoke again. Holding a grudge against him did not seem so hard right now. "Tomorrow we'll get you some better clothes. You'll soon find that most women here do not wear jeans." He said. Through his deep voice, I heard weariness crack through.

I was too sleepy to be bothered by his comments. "Good night," The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Oh well, it was better than have good manners than bad manners.

"You mean 'Good morning'," I could hear his sleepy grin in his rumble.

I yawned and flipped over, "sure, whatever." It was barely audible.

When I awoke in the early night, I found myself enveloped in a very warm and protective source. My eyes fluttered open and I saw skin. Skin? Too shocked to move, I went through my senses. I could see skin. I smelt something welcoming. It was hard to describe but it was something I enjoyed. I tasted nothing, of course. Besides feeling safe, there were muscular arms around me. Wait, arms around me?

I twisted my head and indeed, I was in Jinx's arms. Oh dear goodness. His quiet breath softened my heart beat. How had I ended up in this position? I highly doubted it was my doing, but on the off chance it was... Perhaps if I fell back asleep he could be the one to deal with this situation.

For the time being I nestled my head into his chest and was surprised when there was a light thump, like the sound of a beating heart. When I waited and did not hear it again, I brushed it off. Before I closed my eyes, I noticed that there a tint of sunlight streaming in through the window. I was almost asleep again when I heard it. It definitely was a heart beat. Satisfied but perplexed, I allowed myself to fall in the waiting sleep.

I woke up again, and was alone on the bed. The covers were pulled up tightly around my body, like a cocoon. Escaping from the tightness, I sat up and rubbed my eyes free of rheum. "You have a slow heartbeat." I said unexpectedly. Oh crap, I just gave away that I knew I was in his arms, that is, if he paid attention to how he woke that morning.

Thump. Thump-Thump. Thump. Thump-Thump.

"Yes." He confirmed and looked up from his seat at the desk. A smirk edged on his lips. So he did realize I had known I had been in his arms, and he knew that I had not pulled away from his chest. My face blushed a light red.

What was I supposed to think about him? This certainly proved that first impressions counted for nothing. "Why?"

"It's a secret." He turned around again and continued writing.

I glanced to the curtains again, no light shone through at all. Was it night time? Curious, I decided to investigate. Stumbling, I tripped over the edge of the bed, somehow. Flat on my face, I pushed myself up from the carpet.

"Did you have a nice trip?" His voice buzzed in my ear. Did he really just pull that joke on me? I stuck my tongue out at him and peeked out of the curtains. At my gasp, he must have been able to tell how amazed I was by the view. "Do you find it to your taste?"

"Yes," I breathed. If it was daytime I would have been able to see it better.

I could see the rest of the mansion, which was larger than I could comprehend at the moment. There was a empty field after the mansion that was filled with a huge lawn with trees bordering it. Over the ginormous mountains, the setting sun died them blood red, tinting their snowy peaks.

"They're called the Blood Mountains." He informed me. "If you look at them during the sunset-"

"They look as if they are covered by blood." I completed his sentence for him in a whisper.

He heard me. "It must be sunset right now."

I nodded. "It's beautiful.

"Yes, part of the reason I chose to live here." I turned to look at him, still writing away with his quill. What could I classify him as? Sadist was the first thing that popped to my mind, but it did not fit him well.

...

"You're wearing glasses," I said when I saw Alex in the hallway. He had two books in his arm.

And indeed he was. They were wire rimmed and created an atmosphere of a studious and very smart person around him. Today, he was wearing a yellow blazer and a long sleeved red silk shirt.

"How do you like them?" He asked me very seriously. "Do they make my eyes look odd?"

"No, not at all!" I told him, rather admiring the way he looked.

"Now on a more serious matter than, what are you doing up here? I thought I told you that it was not in your best wishes to be around here." He frowned at me, striking a hand through his tousled hair.

"I don't have much of a choice on whether to be up here or not."

"Would you care to explain?" He did not seem angry, nor pleased.

I glanced from side to side. "It's rather silly." And it was, being almost run over and then kidnapped by the same person was an oddity. Then the same person proclaiming the victim his slave and then next minute cuddling with them. It just did not fit together at all.

He grinned lazily at me. "A tale for another time then."

I nodded to him, and examined his clear, and pale face. His yellow eyes seemed to accentuate his outfit that day. A question then popped into my head, and I had to ask.

"Tell me Alex, are vampires really immortal? Please explain it to me." My tone was earnest and I looked at him in a pleading way.

Alex looked at me and then sighed. "Being a vampire does not give you immortality. It gives you time. Everyone is allowed a certain amount of heart beats you know, some are grant a lot, some just a few. The act of being a vampire slows your heart immensely, therefore, you are able to live much longer."

I stared at him in awe. "Wow."

"It's really a poison; the venom used to make vampires. Though, it seems to be a positive thing for some people. Two of the most curious side effects is that the victims begin to thirst for blood and their eyes become sensitive to the sunlight."

"A venom?" That was really very intriguing.

"As I said before, it has a way of slowly down the heart, and at the same time allowing the person to survive." Alex paused and then shifted his glasses.

"How do you know so much?"

He pushed his glasses up his nose, "I've been studying their habits for a while now."

"So you're human?" I wondered...

He just smirked at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seriously, this man.

"Something about you is different today." He got a distant look in his eyes and pondered for a moment. "You drastically changed your wardrobe. I remember you wearing the maid outfit yesterday," was the conclusion he came to after a long moment's thought.

It was true. "Yes, I did." I dipped my head to him. "I must be going now, I have a few things to attend to." Actually, only one thing. Getting my clothes.

I began to walk past him and towards the elevator. He turned around as I walked by.

"It has been most enchanting to see you again Roxanne. I hope we will be able to talk soon." He turned around and continued walking, books in hand.

"Corybantic." I suddenly said as I entered the elevator. "Alex's hair is very corybantic."

Jinx had told me to meet the girl named Naomi; she would help me pick out clothes. Personally, I would rather take a shower first before meeting anyone, but with Jinx in the room I was not sure that I wanted to. The girl was supposed to live on the level below his.

I pushed the button in, and watched the dial move down the length slowly. It beeped and the doors opened to reveal a very different hallway. This one was less plain. Instead of there being statues in an alcove every few yards, there was a picture frame, bouquet of flowers, or something else that added life.

I turned down the cheerful hallway, just as Jinx had instructed. 3rd door to the left, 3rd door to the left, 3rd door to the left. 3rd door to the left! And indeed, at the top, just as Jinx's door had, the name Naomi was written in the same fancy script. Charming.

I lifted my hand to knock, but my fist fell through an open doorway. "Roxie! Ixie told me that you were coming!" An energetic girl appeared the doorway. The girl from the elevator!

I gaped at her. "Ixie?"

"You probably refer to him as Master Jinx, don't you?" She giggled and invited me in. "Come in dear, I'm so excited to meet you."

"You were the girl from the elevator yesterday." I stated softly, looking at the floor. My hair really was a mess.

"The maid?" She tilted her head, the hair falling to the side. "That was you?"

I nodded.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, her exuberance exerting from her wildly. "I guess it just shows that clothes really define you."

"You were wearing an apron and maid dress yesterday, too, though. Are you not a maid either?" I wondered as I stared at her auburn hair that was in the same style as it had been when I first saw her. It seemed very thin, as did the braid that went around her head. Did she redo it every day?

Grinning up at me like a naïve child, she responded with a pout. "I like to dress up from time to time. Life can be so unchanging here."

"Naomi? Who are you talking to?" I heard a man's voice coming from another room

"Who's that?" I whispered my question.

"It's my husband." Then she turned to talk to him, "Just a friend, dear."

Husband? She looked so young though. She must have realized my surprise. "I'm older than I look."

That brought an interesting question to mind. I would have to ask Alex about the aging of vampires' bodies. I nodded to Naomi although I did not really understand. Oh well.

Taking a deep look at me, Naomi sighed. "You have such a lovely face shape, but those freckles can be difficult to work with."

I never really thought about my freckles as being hard to work around. They were useful when I had zits, hiding the less obvious ones. "I don't have too many."

"Don't pout dear, we'll get you some nice clothes."

**I enjoy reviews... Also, if you would like to have input on the relationship of Jinx and Roxanne but don't want to post a review, there's a poll on my page. :D**

Ah~ I cannot decide if I like Alex or Jinx more! Also, this is my longest chapter yet!


	6. Six

May the 4th be with you... ;) Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo! Well for Mexicans. Hehe. If you see spelling or grammatical errors please inform me. Review so I know if you like it not, I'm here to please you~ Aha, sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. I've had a busy two days~

**Chapter Six**

Naomi stood before me. I gaped and stared around the closet.

"You like it?" She pondered to me.

I stared at her incredulously. "I can pick from all of these clothes?" There were so many options!

"Only the ones I approve." She winked. "But I'll be doing most of the picking and choosing Roxie."

I sighed, and started rummaging through the clothes on one wall of the closet.

"Nothing over there is going to fit you dear, they're all my size." Naomi said when she saw me against the wall. "Why don't you wait it the dressing room and I'll give you some dresses to try."

I smiled, going through clothes to wear was not one of the things I looked forward to. "Alright," I told her and entered the side doors in the closet. It was like the closet's closet.

Soon enough, she handed over two dresses from me to try over. I opened the door to let her fit the dresses through. She grinned at me, "Those two should be good, you might not like dresses but you'll have to get used to them, at least when you are up and about. The women here are very particular about what other women are wearing. No one would be caught dead wearing jeans."

"What is this? This mansion seems to be digressing, not progressing." I sighed.

Naomi grinned from outside, "At least you don't have to wear those Victorian dresses. Though some chose to wear them, but only the older women do. Personally, even though I'm quite old, I like the new dresses they have these days."

I slowly opened the door and stepped out to show the dress to her. Instantly, she ran to fix a wrinkle, and straightened it out. Clapping her hands together, she exclaimed. "You look wonderful!"

"Really?" I pondered. "It's a bit plain."

"I like it, go look in the mirror if you need proof."

"Do women really wear dresses like this every day?" I asked her doubtfully.

She nodded vigorously. "If you are dead set on wearing jeans, I can get a few pairs for you. But you should be warned the Ixie will not allow you to wear jeans to social functions, and unless you want to be the gossip of all the ladies here, I would wear dresses when you are around them."

I groaned, "This will be so much work." I examined myself in the mirror. The current dress was brown, a colour than accented my freckles. It was just straight, going down to the tops of my knees. The part that covered my chest layered over itself loosely.

This went on for a good while, until Naomi decided to bring me something different. I was exhausted by that time.

"Try these on and then show me what they look like on you." She handed a few hands to me and I nodded without really looking at them.

As I slid out of the final dress, deciding to put it in the 'no' pile, I took a look at the clothes she had given me. "Lingerie?" I shouted to her, going out of the my mind.

"Ixie," Right, that was what she called Jinx, "Did not ask for any clothes like this, but I'm sure he will enjoy them all the same. Now be a good girl and try them on or I'll force them on you."

I hesitated. "I have to actually put it on?"

"Yes," She exclaimed, stamping her petite foot.

Nervously, I placed them upon my body, squeaking at how little they covered. "Oh Naomi, you cannot be serious."

"Come out and show me," She ordered, grabbing the handle of the dressing room door.

I complied unwillingly, and let her see. The lingerie was silky maroon and black, and barely covered my skin. She looked at it critically, "It makes it look like you have nice breasts."

"Hey!" I yelled at her, blushing. "You're a girl, you can't say things like that."

"I think Ixie will like it, try on the other two." I was forced back into the fitting room and she had to threaten me a few more times before I changed into the other 'outfits'.

By the time we were done, she rewarded me with giving me a few pairs of jeans and dress tops.

"Aren't you glad that's over?" She asked cheerfully, helping me carry the clothes she had found adequate for me.

"Yes, thank goodness." I told her, still embarrassed.

As we walked back to Master Jinx's room, she commented on his behavior. "I was surprised that he did not throw a..." She searched for the word. "I was surprised he did not throw a, tantrum, if you will, last night." She paused, "Tantrum seems to childish, but he usually has fits of rage after feasts like that one. Well, we usually hearing him crashing around his room like a madman."

I stared at her, "Madman?" Just who was I staying with?

"I think that you have affected his attitude greatly since you came here." She finished commenting. "You're good for him."

That was exactly what I did _not_ want to hear.

By the time we reached Jinx's room, he was no longer in there. The curtains were still pulled open wide, but the bed was neatly made from the mess I created this morning, well actually night I guess, when I got up.

"Where's his closet?" Naomi questioned me.

"It's the first door," I said, not wanting to relive the memories I got from the closet.

She marched right up and into the closet, setting her stack of clothes in there and hanging up the dresses on empty hangers. After she was finished with her stack, I gave her mine.

"There!" She told me, "All nice now. I have to go now, dear, it was nice to meet you." She curtsied, "I'll be seeing you around later then. Oh, a little tidbit of information, you might want to change before Ixie comes back."

I would take a shower first though, while he was not in here. Flipping the bathroom light on, I shut and locked the door behind me. The fan automatically turned on when I started running the shower. I left my clothes on the floor and stepped in, letting the hot water soak into my skin and soothe me. It flowed into my hair and massaged my back steadily as I stood there, relaxing.

"Shampoo?" I asked no one out loud. Answering my questions, I found my gaze moved to a black bottle in the corner. That must be what Jinx used.

I picked up it and examined it. There was no clear label or opening. I tried pulling the top off, and just squeezing it. How on earth did this thing work? I pushed the top down with frustration and was surprised when a stream of shampoo was released from a little hole that had appeared in the top. Shocked, I pushed the head down again; the hole disappeared. Interesting.

The suds covered my dark hair, and grew as I scratched my scalp. It felt so nice to be relieved of the oil that had gathered there. The water soaked the shampoo down the drain and left my hair clean. There was a white bottle that looked similar to the white one in shape and size. I tried the same thing; pushing the head down and another hole appeared in the top.

I poured it onto my hand and lathered it into my hair, yanking the snarls as my fingers came across them. Soon my hair was smoother than a baby's skin. I looked around for a razor, and soap. I successfully found one of each, but hesitated before using the soap. I ran it under the water for a few seconds before starting to use it.

By the time I was done with the shower and was all sparkly clean, the water was beginning to cool off slightly. They must have a lot of hot water to supply such a long shower as I did and not run all the way out by the time I was done. I pushed the lever down and the water stopped completely, not even dripping.

I rung out my hair and stepped out of the shower, realizing I had not found a towel to use. I swiveled my head around the room and then noticed something.

There was another towel on the rack that had not been there before. "What?" Maybe I had just not been observant enough before. I shrugged it off and dried off.

I stepped out of the bathroom, noticing that the fan had turned off.

"I never said you could take a shower." Said a manly voice.

I jumped and slowly turned my towel covered body towards the source of the voice. At first I was relieved when it was just Jinx, but then I realized he was a man, who saw me in only a towel. I pulled the towel to my body tighter and glared at him.

"I don't think you want a smelly girl greasing up your room, do you?" I questioned him and walked into the closet, wanting to get dressed before he did anything weird again.

I closed the closet door and sank to the floor. The door to the shower had not been locked when I left it! He must have come in during my shower. Oh the guts he had! If I was any stronger I would beat him for it. I was just skin and bones, no muscle or hardened fat anywhere on my body.

I sighed and got up. I dressed quickly, afraid he would come in. When I exited the closet with the towel in my arm, he was sitting at his desk, typing away on his laptop. His laptop reminded me of my phone, where had that gone?

I quickly felt my jean pockets, when I realized I had left my clothes in the bathroom. I rushed into the bathroom and was relieved when my clothes were laying in the same position I had left them. There was a bulge in them from my phone and wallet. If he had been in the bathroom, he had not bothered to look through my clothes. I sighed a breath of relief and exited, with the phone and wallet tucked safely in the handy pockets of my new comfy pale blue and gray halter dress.

"How long have you been here?" My silky voice asked the question begging at my mind.

He looked up at me, "A little bit."

"You put a towel in there." I allowed a little thankfulness to enter my soft tone.

"Yes." He nodded to me.

"I didn't notice you." I stated to him, quietly.

His voice suggested nothing about him leaving quickly. "I just slipped in."

"How long were you in there?" I had to know, did he see anything?

"Are you keeping track of me, _slave_?" He put a large emphasis on slave. "I thought it was supposed to be the other way around."

"I'm not your slave," I told him, holding his gaze. "I am your equal."

He cocked an eyebrow at me, willing me to defy him even more. I glanced out the window at the barely lightening sky before I looked into his eyes again.

"You almost killed me, I think you owe me your life as payback." I said evenly.

He frowned at me, "I would owe you my life if you saved mine."

It was my turn to be disappointed. "If we were in reversed situations I could decide to just let you be run over to get my revenge."

He grinned, he actually grinned. "Revenge doesn't fit such a naïve girl like yourself."

"I can be vicious if I want to!" I cried out, though I kept my distance from him. I looked like a weak human being to him, didn't I?

Jinx stood up, "I'd like to see you try."

**You know you want to review~! :o Is this partially a filler chapter? No... Well some things have happened [:**


	7. Seven

I think I will upload two chapters(So one more] today even though it's Mother's Day. They were written already yesterday just not fully revised. Also, sorry for the delay. I was going to write the last half Friday night but I had forgotten there was a horribly long school concert to go to.

**Chapter Seven**

I took a small step back, and then another one. He advanced quickly on me, though I could not tell if it was in a threatening manner or not. I tripped suddenly and fell backwards against the cool glass window beyond the plush window seat. It was actually quite comfortable; the seat that is. Jinx placed his hands against the sills of the window and hovered in front of my face.

"Don't take my blood again." Feeling slightly powerful in my words, I tried to order him. I was against a wall though; rather, a window, I didn't have much of an influence over him.

"I wont as long as you don't take my bottled blood... or get caught in an unfortunate situation with me." He simpered. Smirks like his had always annoyed me.

I adverted my gaze, but felt the pressure of his own upon me. The room abruptly seemed totally dark, maybe because he was blocking all the light from the chandeliers. My body started to lean sideways in an attempt to get away, and his body followed mine down. Soon enough, I was laying on the window seat with his body hanging over mine. His red eyes were luminous as he looked down at me, or rather, my throat.

I squeezed my eyes shut and twisted my head, struggling to reach a hand up to protect my neck. His legs that were surrounding my mid stomach kept my hands and arms firmly at my sides. I squirmed about, trying to get him off. He weighed a ton, and it was crashing down on my stomach.

"Get off," I said weakly.

My stomach growled loudly and suddenly which made the both of us pause. Perhaps it was the weight upon it that made it have a reaction. I blushed violently and heard him laugh.

"Look at that, it seems you are hungry, too." Jinx commented with a smile. Truthfully, I was not very hungry. Although, if I told him that, he was sure to keep me trapped beneath him.

'Too'? Was he hungry? Or did he mean thirsty when he said hungry? A chill ran throughout my body and I gave up with struggling. His body was definitely weighing down on my body too much.

"You don't see very apt to be vicious anymore," he sighed and sat back, between my legs which were now spread apart. "I was excited that I might see a different side of you." He turned his head to look out to the mountains, the redness of his eyes was not glowing anymore. Odd. Did some certain emotion make them shine like they had been just a few seconds ago?

I was not sure how to take his comment so I just laid there and twisted my head to look at the mountains. Getting used to being nocturnal would be challenging. When he was quiet and not being mischievous like this it was quite pleasant. He blinked and looked towards me.

"The mountains always seem to make me gain my head again." It was a simple statement.

Was he admitting that sometimes he was a bit off of his rocker? I allowed a smile to crawl onto my face and I sat up. Pulling my legs towards me, I sat cross legged. As I looked outside, I noticed that the reflection from the chandeliers made light marks on the window.

"If we closed the curtains it might be easier to see the mountains." I suggested quietly.

People had always been annoyed by my meek attitude, and even crazy Jinx had just expressed that he would like to see a different side of me. The temptation to rebel racked throughout my body, but I ignored it. He could easily overtake me if he got angry or frustrated at me again.

He gave a miniature nod and leaned forward to grab the curtains from my side of the window seat. They glided closed and were joined by the ones from the other side. That was when I realized just how big the window seat was. At least, it was five and a half feet wide, if not more. Enough for a human giant to sit on comfortably with a bit more room to spare.

We sat there and looked outside for a while. It was probably about one in the morning when I saw the calamitous clouds roll in. Their dark widths were menacing and harsh. They looked sharp and deadly, as if they might produce large tornadoes or a long thunderstorm filled with much lightning.

Their fast attack up in the valley hidden in the mountains was followed intently by my wary eyes as I watched the clouds. Thunderstorms were not my favourite thing to endure in the world.

Soon they covered the whole sky, going on forever and ever it seemed. I looked at Jinx briefly. He was leaning against the wall; a face that still gazed outwards. I was content to study his face while the clouds continued to roll in. It helped to calm my nerves about the storm.

A roll of quiet, but growing, thunder startled me into a whimper. I glanced outside and saw that the wind had picked up greatly. The other things moving outside were the trees at the end of the huge field. They swayed to and fro, dancing chaotically in the monstrous wind.

I sat up to attention and got on my knees, tensed up. Rain started to pound on the glass window with a shattering speed and strength to their attacks.

"This is going to be a bad storm." Jinx stated calmly.

"What if the windows break?" I asked worriedly.

He stood firm."My windows can stand anything."

"What?" Every window had the potential to break.

"I used to have a lot of people after my life." It came out of his mouth as if he had no stance of the matter.

Was he implying they were all dead? "Used to?"

"They're all gone now."

I stared at him startled. "Eh?" It was more of a quieter scream than any words that had a certain, thought out meaning.

It conveyed my shock to Jinx well. "I've lived quite a while, and I have power and money. Of course I have had people who hate me."

'Like me', I uttered in my thoughts, even though I was thinking it, the words were not truthful.

A crack of thunder made me escape to the other side of the room. Being by the window was rattling my bravery into small, microscopic pieces. He crossed the room in a few strides to meet me.

Now might be a bad time to mention I wanted to change rooms, but when else would I say it? "It's not right for us to sleep in the same bed." Even if he was extremely handsome and had one fine body. "I want to change rooms." I whispered, fearing that if I was louder he would yell at me. The yell would probably be louder than the thunder outside.

"Even though we aren't doing anything?" He asked me in an equal whisper, getting close to me.

I replied swiftly, "How long before you try something on me?"

He frowned deeply at me, "No."

"No?" That answer did not satisfy the question...

"You're staying in my room." His order was clear.

I stared at him, not understanding why he would not let me be in another room. "I'll sleep on the window seat then. It's large enough for me to be comfortable."

"Do you hate me that much?" They were sad and angry; his eyes.

"No, I just have to keep my tan up." I joked, the mood was increasing.

The edge of his lips lifted but he gaze stayed captured to my eyes. "You will sleep in my bed."

I stared at him defiantly, not having the power to say words anymore. My glare unsettled him it seemed. He shifted his weight before going into action.

Jinx corner me against the wall and slammed his hands against them. I was trapped. "Roxanne-"

"I have to go," I said with wide eyes. I dropped from between his arms and ran out quickly. The door fell shut immediately as it tried to stop him. It was an obvious lie, where would I go? He made no move to stop me though from what I had seen. I ran and ran down the halls, which went on forever.

I finally stopped when I realized I was lost. There were many twists and turns I had taken to escape him. My breath escaped my mouth raggedly from all that running. I had been sitting there in the dark for quite a while before I received anymore interaction with someone. The tears fell freely from my eyes the whole while, soaking my dress.

I heard his footsteps before I saw him. He was dressed in a red buttoned up coat today with a white silk shirt beneath it. His feet pattered up to me before he came to a stop in front of me.

Alex raised his eyebrows at me. "You seem sad." As he said that he leaned forward and then rocked back on his feet.

Another silent tear ran down my cheek, but I laughed anyways. "You don't have much tact, either." I sniffed and wiped a tear away.

"I don't have much experience with girls like you." He was grinning ear to ear, I didn't think it was about my crying.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I was sure that it came out much more jumbled and between the crazy inhales you take while crying.

He leaned down in front of me, "Take it as you will."

"That's a dangerous thing to say." I sniffled and brushed away another tear on my damp cheek.

"Would you like to tell me why you are crying?"

"I got scared," I admitted truthfully, standing up.

"Of the thunder?" He pondered, "Storms like this happen pretty often, you'll have to get used to them." As proof of that statement, the huge window that was in front of me; behind him, lit up as a stroke of lightning came close to the mansion. That statement could also be applied to my relationship with Jinx, I later thought.

"No." I wrapped my arms around him tightly as the bang of thunder came stomping down from the sky. Burying my face in his chest seemed like the closest thing to safety.

He patted my head, pulling me in. "Then what are you afraid of?"

I never responded. What was I afraid of? Jinx? No, not always. It was when he was angry that I was afraid.

The rain continued to pound against the window and the lightning was frequent. My fingers gripped at his back whenever there was another burst of thunder.

"There, there." He rubbed my back, soothingly.

Soon I was sitting on his lap, my head buried in neck. His long, thin fingers ran circles on my back. A tingle ran through my body and I gripped him tighter. The thunderstorm was raging wildly outside.

"If you were away from the windows, it might be better Roxanne." He told me in a whisper that didn't have to travel far to reach my delicate ear.

"Don't leave me." My fingers pulled at his coat and my voice croaked.

The helplessness of my figure must have convinced him to stay there with me. My long mangled hair was strewn over my back chaotically. The tears that ran down my cheeks reddened the growing bags under my eyes and soaked trails into my pale freckled face.

"I won't leave you," He told me reassuringly and repeatedly. "Don't worry." He hands continued to massage my back in comforting patterns.

**You feel a strong urge to review about this chapter. Glowing eyes? Alex comforting Roxanne? What in the name of gingerbread is going on here? I'm revising and adding onto the next chapter now & I'll hopefully be uploading it within the next few hours ;D**


	8. Eight

Hey guys. Whenever I tried to upload this I would just get a white screen. Hence why this is so late. :o Murg, I have another event after school this week so I might miss the update on Thursday. :[ I'll try to make it though~ I love you guys! Just saying, you guys make me smile a lot [: So if this story starts to become cheesy/cliche you guys should let me know.

**Chapter Eight**

I lifted my head and found myself in a strangely enchanting room. Stars hung from the dark blue ceiling and crème walls surrounded the room. It felt upside down in a sense. On one side of the room the wall completely consisted of mirrors that had been hung up right next to each other in differing sizes and with differing frames. Where was I?

Answering my question, I processed my location. I was a long bed, alone. A thin sheet and large blanket covered my sprawled out body. My dress was wrinkled and scrunched madly around my body. I sat up and examined my large dwellings. The sun would be completely set in about an hour, I speculated as I saw a small shaft of light escaping from the outside world into the room.

My eating schedule had gone completely wrong while I had been here. But my hunger was fresh. My throat and tongue were sand paper.

Sitting up, I stretched my pale arms outwards and yawned. As I twisted my head side to side, it gave a satisfying pop. I rolled my shoulders forward in an effort to wake myself up for the night. Turning my lithe body side to side, I felt my body become loose. Another yawn escaped my mouth before I could stop it. A small droplet of salt water formed in my eye from yawning and I quickly wiped it away.

I got up off the bed, drowsily. My small feet padded against the wood floor quietly and I pulled down my dress, as it had been pulled up during my sleep. As I walked around the room, I saw a couch that had the back facing me. Was there someone on there perhaps?

I looked over the top of it and saw the sleeping form of Alex. He was snoring quietly which made me laugh aloud. He made a noise and turned slightly, still locked in sleep and dreams. He must have brought me here after my bout of crying last night.

"Thank you Alex." I said over the couch, even though I knew he could not hear me. "That was kind of you to do."

"Roxanne," He mumbled. I turned around abruptly at my name. Was he talking in his sleep or had he awoke? "What's wrong?" He uttered quietly, still sleeping. He must have been dreaming of last night.

I smiled and opened his front wooden door that led to the hallway. I silently left and closed the door behind me with a soft latch of the lock. Was it like Naomi's and Jinx's? It was, Alexander was the name that was scrawled across the top. So Alex was his nickname.

It took me quite a while to find a familiar looking passage way that I followed for quite a bit. Soon, I was in familiar territory again. I followed my senses that led me to Jinx's room. The senses consisted of looking for his name written across the top of a door.

I hesitated before knocking lightly. Instantly, I was pulled in and the door was slammed shut, I winced and my eyes followed Jinx. My large hunger disappeared momentarily.

"Where were you?" Jinx yelled, exasperated. "I looked all over for you!"

I cringed away from him. He was pacing back and forth in his room, dressed in loose midnight blue pajama pants and a white t-shirt. The room was dark; the curtains were closed and the light had not yet been turned on.

I supposed I could understand his attitude. He had not known where I had gone and I was out all night, or rather day? Perhaps I should not had run away; I felt bad for Jinx. He had been very threatening last night though...

"I got lost in the hallways and fell asleep when I could not find my way back," I deceived him. I had indeed gotten lost in the hallways, and then fallen asleep. Just other events had intervened, too. "When I woke up I somehow found my way back here."

He stopped pacing and looked at me; calming down. "Roxanne..." He trailed off, and looked at me as if he could not tell if I was lying or not. The skin beneath his eyes had the slight discolouration of the person of who did not get enough sleep the night before.

I fidgeted my fingers before summoning the courage to go up to him. My cheeks burned hotly as I looked at him with a small smile, "Did you stay up all day waiting for me?"

Jinx looked taken aback by my actions. He mumbled something I couldn't hear and looked away. Did that mean yes? The way he was acting at the moment was cute and it was nice to get a break from his angry self.

"You need a haircut, your bangs are getting in your eyes." I told him, looking up at his shaggy brown hair. He was in need of a shower as well.

"I don't understand you." He looked confused, and his eyebrows knit together.

I raised my own eyebrows. "I don't understand you either, and I'm majoring in Psychology."

He puffed out a breath of air and stared at me. I could see a bit of frustration in his eyes but he was doing well at concealing it from me. While waiting for him to say something, I looked around the room. When I had walked in something had seemed off.

My brown eyes traveled around the large room and my lips parted to let out a gasp; the books from the bookshelves were all over the floor, as if there had been a violent rampage in the room. The couch was moved from it's original location and the many contents on his desk were all strewn around. My mouth opened slightly for words to escape but I stopped them before they could roll off of my tongue. If I said something about it, I felt it would ruin the already tittering mood.

"I'll be out in a bit," He said and sauntered off the bathroom, going to take a shower I supposed.

"Maybe I should clean up," I said to myself, looking around the room. It might keep Jinx in a good mood.

It seemed that Jinx heard me. He turned his head to glance at me, "That's a good idea." He disappeared behind the door and closed it behind him. It clicked shut and I heard the fan turn on.

Blurp! I turned around, looking for the source of the noise. It sounded again, and that was when I realized it was my stomach moaning for food. At the thought of my stomach; the hunger came rushing back in a jiffy. I was bent over, painfully. How long had it been since I had eaten?

I definitely was not going to look for food again. The occurrence from last time was enough to stop me from snooping around any time soon. I would just have to wait up Jinx got out of the shower before I was able to eat.

This was an ideal time to see if I had gotten any new texts, but what if my phone ran out of battery? No, it wouldn't do that so quickly. I had been able to go days without charging it before. There was no way turning it on for a few minutes would drain the battery.

Before I pulled it out, I made sure that I heard the shower running. It would not be good if he came out while I was checking my phone. I pulled it out of my dress pocket, thankful it was still there even after my exertion last night. The screen lit up once more, and it began to load. A small bar crawled across the screen. While waiting for it to search for signal, I looked for a place to start my cleaning for Jinx. If I could just keep myself distracted until Jinx came out, my stomach pain would possibly disappear for the moment.

I leaned down by the fallen books, and with one hand I began to put them on the shelf one by one. The other hand rested on my belly, helping to keep it slightly sane. I tried to arrange them how they had been before as best as I could. If I gave Jinx a reason to be mad at me, it would definitely not be for the order of the books on the shelves.

My small phone sat on the wooden floor beside me, flashing brightly. Picking it up, I put the large red book in my hand on the black shelf and pressed 'open' on my phone. A small green loading bar appeared and then disappeared to reveal a long text from my mother. Quickly, I typed out an adequate response and sent it, glad I still had service. When I saw that it had been the only unopened message on my phone I was happy, but then I realized something. Did people really not notice me enough to say something when I was gone? I frowned and turned off my phone with haste.

It plopped into my discreet pocket and I began working on the many spread out books again. At one point in time when I moved to the book shelf on the other side of the fire place, I laid on the ground with desperation for food and water. How long would his shower be?

Soon enough, I had all of the books put away, neatly. They looked just as they had before, the few book series that he had were put together in order and the rest were alphabetical by the author's last name, well... most of them were. He was such a librarian.

I sighed a long breath of relief because that the daunting task was over. Now for the rest of the room! The closest thing for me to fix was the couch, which was slightly awry from its normal position. This one should be easy to fix.

I moved to behind the couch and pushed lightly, expecting it to move freely. It did not budge. Maybe it was a little heavier than I had thought. I pushed against it harder but, it still would not move a centimeter. I groaned and heaved my weight into it. With a start, I fell on my face with a great smack. The couch had moved quite a bit.

I sat up stiffly and rubbed my head. "Ouch," I whimpered.

Looking at the dark ground, I noticed the fluffy pure white rug had scrunched up harshly beneath it. I heaved another sigh. I furrowed my dark eyebrows and lifted the hefty couch up by the leg to straighten the carpet. Mind you, I only was able to lift it a few centimeters. My back tightened as I lifted it up and reached a fast hand beneath it. Quickly, I tugged the carpet to my right and then let the couch settle onto its rug again. Rather, it did not settle; it fell.

With the rug straightened out, the couch was much easier to move. I shifted it to the correct place and groaned, wiping a drip of trickling sweat from my forehead. Was I that out of shape or was moving the couch an extreme task for my weak muscles?

As long as I was at this, I might as well as make the bed. Pulling the many soft covers and tender pillows off, I began the easy way. With only the dark blue base sheet resting on the bed, I brought the next layer of covering over the bed and tucked it in around the corners, tightly. I whisked the wrinkles out of it with wide motions. Next, I picked up the huge bed comforter and dragged it over the monstrous bed. My hands swept across it in an attempt to smooth all of the wrinkles out. Only the pillows remained. I picked up the pillows one by one. They were fluffed out before I set them on the bed again.

By this time, I was getting slightly hot from all the moving around the bed I had done. I glanced at his desk with raised eyebrows. Compared to the desk, the whole room was a piece of cake. Pens were sprawled across the surface and the glass pen holder was broken on the floor. I made a mental note to avoid stepping on that. If I did it might lead Jinx to take my blood again. I groaned and took a route around the pile of the shards of glass. Papers were flung all over the wide desk. How was I supposed to put those together correctly? Maybe if I put them in a neat pile it would be alright.

The whole process probably took me ten minutes. I then realized that Jinx had been in the shower the whole while. What was taking him so long?

I didn't have anything to pick up the glass with but I gathered the largest pieces and set them inside the remaining bottom portion of the glass. I was leaning over, picking up the rest of the glass when I heard the bathroom door open. Startled, I jumped away from the wreckage he had created.

My head turned to examine Jinx. He had a white towel tied around his waist and his hair was dripping wet. Little drops of water caught in his dark eyelashes. His sharp eyes followed the gaze of my eyes and when he realized I was overlooking his body he grinned foolishly. My face turned crimson and I looked away from his muscles.

"Could we get some food?" I stuttered embarrassed; intently looking at the door.

He stood there for a second, "I suppose you need that, don't you?" He sighed and nodded, which I couldn't see. "Press 7 on the phone there," He said, pointing to a cell phone I had not noticed before. "It goes to the kitchen, order what you want and they'll deliver it here."

I was so concentrated on ordering food I did not see his back turn to me and quickly fade into the closet. I quickly dialed the singular number and ordered a breakfast. Within minutes it had arrived, steaming hot. As I sat down on the floor by the bed to enjoy my food, Jinx appeared suddenly in front of me.

"I haven't needed food in many years, and even now the taste of it is not as vibrant as it once was." He sighed, watching me eat the syrup coated pancakes on the over sized plate.

I was not sure how to react. "Maybe you had too much spicy food and it ruined your taste buds."

He rolled his eyes at me. Jinx sat down on the bed and crossed one leg over his knee, relaxing. He was wearing black pants and a tight blue shirt. It was the second most casual outfit I had seen him in, the first being the blue pajama bottoms he had been wearing when I came in earlier.

The pancakes were quickly devoured and they disappeared into my stomach. A glass of orange juice sat before me and I quickly downed it.

"You're going to get a stomach ache from eating that fast." He informed me, propped up by his large hands.

I turned around to look at him, swallowing the last piece of my pancake. "How long are you planning to keep me here?" I picked up my plate and set it on his desk. It made a cling as it settled down.

"For as long as I like," He growled suddenly, pushing me up against the cold closet wall seductively.

"Are you so desperate to have a woman in your life that you need to kidnap one?" I said bitterly, getting sick of his antics.

He just grinned as if he had gotten what he wanted. "I knew you had some vicious nature in you."

Frowning, I glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He put his rough hands upon my wrists and looked me in the face. "I mean that I enjoy this."

I struggled, trying move my wrists. Helplessly, my arms flailed.

"Why do you make this so difficult, Roxanne?"

"Well, _Ixie_, you're the one who is making this hard for the two of us." Using his nickname name felt relieving, as if I was making fun of him. "If you just let me go home and finish my schooling everything would be much easier for the both of us."

He hissed at me, revealing his fangs. "Ixie?" His voice was venomous and I got a sickening feeling.

I flinched, and shrunk down as much as possible. He pulled me up by my wrists and suddenly moved me to the bed. He hung over me once again. I closed my eyes and tried to move my slender arms. His strong hands still had my upper limbs captured in them though.

His clear face zoomed in to mine slowly. Alluring maroon eyes took mine prisoner in their depths and I stopped my struggles at once. Before I knew it, his warm lips were on mine. The thought to pull away occurred and try as I might, my body would not let me. His painfully sharp fangs poked my soft lips when I accidentally opened my mouth and spread my pink lips. Immediately, they drew blood and he began to suck on my lower lip. Moaning, the thought to draw back entered my mind again.

Some time later, he pulled back from me with a devilish look painted on his handsome face. I was left to gasp for air. By pulling back, he allowed an escape route for me to flee off to. It was an advantage I would gladly take.

"I need a shower." I told him, pushing past with extremely red cheeks.

**So that's a bit different. Anyways, what's going to happen next? Ah, this was my second longest chapter~**


	9. Nine

AHHHHH! I guess that excuses are stupid but, I've had a hectic week. I had two big tests today that I had to study for && then there was a stupid paper I had to write and I was just assigned another one and the thing I had after school was a waste of time.

Also, the blank page thing happened again D: So this was finished yesterday. But anywho, enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Once I had gotten out of the hot shower, I saw Jinx standing tall in the middle of his room. I hurried into the large closet to change into some clothes before anything else could happen. Closing the thick door behind me, I sighed and bent my head down.

A drop of water cascaded down my hair and fell on the ground with a small plop. I unwrapped my towel from my body and wrapped it around my head. My nervous eyes jumped around the closet; avoiding the shiny black mini fridge I knew was full of cold blood.

The new and fresh clothes I had just gotten were hanging innocently on the metallic line next to Jinx's many clothes. When I saw that I gasped and I was filled with a feeling of dread. Jinx had seen the lingerie! Taking a few deep breaths, I attempted to calm the heart that raced inside of my chest.

My fingers flashed through the clothes, clumsily. I looked at each outfit and realized that each of them had been tight and revealing on my body when I had tried them on. Perhaps I should go with jeans?

I grabbed a pair of tight and light gray washed jeans that Naomi had begrudgingly picked out for me. They slipped onto my legs smoothly and hung low of my hips. Naomi had only gotten me a few fancy shirts, and allowed me to have a few tank tops. The time I spent here would not be in comfortable clothing.

"We forgot to pick out night clothes," I said to myself when I realized the obvious. Did Naomi purposely do that...?

When I finally left the closet, the soft towel was over my arm and I had a thin, beaded bright red tank top layered over a plain black one. Jinx was at his desk and he looked up when I walked out. My hair was a mess and all over the place.

"Do you have a brush I could use?" I asked him, examining my extremely tangled hair. My voice was so quiet that I was surprised he heard me.

He nodded and turned back to his desk, "In the bathroom drawer."

As I entered the bathroom, I heard him tapping the table with his fingers in frustration. Thankfully, it was time it was not aimed at me, or at least it seemed.

I opened up the first drawer I saw and shut it. It was full of lotions, shaving cream, toothpaste, and the other. With the next drawer I had more luck. Taking out the brush, I ran it through my hair with difficulty. My hand gripped the handle and yanked it through my snarls. After my painful unsnarling was over, I redid my hair part and looked at myself in the mirror. Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I went back out to the main room.

Jinx did not look up this time. Before moving to the window seat, I glanced at him. He was writing again, clearly frustrated. By the way his utensil marked the paper you would think he was trying to deeply scratch his desk. His fluid hand movements contradicted the situation. I sighed and remembering how he had kissed me on the bed I blushed and immediately sat down on the window seat.

My back pressed against the wall and I looked out. The huge waxing moon brightened the sky. There were no city lights to block out the gorgeous stars that I had never noticed before now. They twinkled glamorously against the dark blue night.

Though I noticed that no airplanes interrupted my vision of and focus on the stars. The only moving objects laid on the ground, like the gently swaying trees or the whispers of wind that tickled the grass in the yards. Moonlight bathed the glistening tree tops in the far off distance and twirled around the grass in magical movements.

"Roxanne," the low and deep rumble startled me. It held no anger or resentment. Was that really Jinx talking?

Shock of the noise hit me and I flinched before seeing his face. Jinx stood before me, an ache displayed across his face. With no response coming from my mouth, he assumed my silence was the best he would get.

"There's lotion in the bathroom drawer." It was an indirect order. I sighed and got up from my position.

I stretched my arms out. Sitting in the same position had tightened up my muscles uncomfortably. From my earlier adventure into the bathroom I had found the drawer he was talking about.

My fingers grasped the handle and pulled it open slowly. I grabbed the lotion that seemed like the most important one. My hip pushed the drawer shut and I turned off the bathroom light as I walked out.

Jinx was sitting on the middle of his soft bed. As I came closer to the bed, he began to take off his shirt. I stopped suddenly and stared at him with questions filling my gaze.

"My back has been bothering me tonight." He stated as he rolled over onto his stomach, revealing his back.

I gasped and took a step back. Had someone beat him? It was filled with scars and was clearly dry as a desert that had never seen rain. That was why he wanted lotion. Moving forward slowly, I took a place on the bed beside him.

On my knees, my hands opened the lotion. They squeezed the bottle lightly and released the noticeably cooler than room temperature white cream. A whole glob covered my hand, which I spread over my hands evenly.

My hands rested onto his back, surprised by the rough texture. When I had awoken in his arms his skin had not felt this rough. I smoothed the lotion into his skin, well. Once I thought I heard a quiet groan of his when I ventured to an extremely dry area, but I could not be sure. As soon as it had appeared, it was gone.

Once I ran out of lotion, I spurted a bit more onto my hand. It was spread to places I had not gotten before. Though I came close to asking him what had happened to his back a few times, I chickened out every instance.

A loud rap on the door startled me. I yanked my hands away from Jinx's back which cause him to growl and look back at me. Obviously his mood had worsened quite a bit. I supposed that Jinx did not want me to make a move for the door and neither did he, so we stayed there in silence. After moment's hesitation I began to work on his back again.

The door flew open and showed a man standing there angrily. He glared into the room at Jinx, and then shifted his dark red eyes to me. "Well well, Jinx what do we have here? Finally found a girl spicy enough for you?"

A rosy blush tinged my cheeks and I looked away immediately. The man had a repulsive nature about him and how he looked. I could feel him gazing at me and I tried to pull back impulsively but Jinx's sudden and quiet hand on mine stopped me short of the action.

He sat up on the bed, annoyed, and looked at the man in the doorway with a scowl. "What do you want?" His muscles flexed, threateningly.

My gaze flickered from Jinx to the man in the door to Jinx again. Whatever their relationship was, it definitely was not friends.

"Oh, nothing that is important enough to stop this." He replied with a simper and turned to leave. "Oh, Jinx." He called back, turning his head. "Remember about the meeting in a few hours." Finally he left and closed the large door behind him. His footsteps clapped down the hall, inaudible to me after his first step away.

Jinx groaned and fell down against the bed, back first. He closed his eyes and spread his arms out on the bed.

"Meeting?" I wondered, curiously.

"There are some affairs I have to take care of." His face was an open book that read only one clear emotion. Irritability flashed in his red eyes and his hand clenched the bed top, creating wrinkles in the comforter.

My head nodded but I did not truly understand. Was it that bad to attend the meetings? Then Jinx took my wrist in his grasp and pulled my body onto him.

I squeaked with shock pooling in my wide and shining brown eyes. Sitting right below his waist, I was too surprised to try to escape from him. My legs were tucked beneath me and around his sides. His rough hands brought me down on his muscular chest. The top of my head just barely reached past his shoulder, showing off the grand difference in our heights.

Our positions were suddenly switched and he was hanging over me, as he had been before. I ducked my head down quickly, embarrassed by his motions. His two fingers brought my chin up though, to look into his eyes that were now filled with two emotions. Hot breath escape from our mouths, mixing into an invisible mist.

In the instant that I blinked, his mouth graciously touched mine. Taking advantage of a quiet gasp of mine; his tongue invaded my mouth. Suddenly, my lips took a course of their own and decided to kiss him back. It turned from a slow kiss into a passionate one quickly. He rolled us over against so that I was on top, straddling him once again.

This was wrong. This was very wrong. Why couldn't I stop? I finally gained control and pulled back for a fresh breath of air. Panting slightly, I gazed at him. My pulse had accelerated greatly, so much so that I could hear it pounding swiftly.

"Jinx," I managed to whisper before his hands softly caressed my arms that were holding me up so I did not fall on him. There was no reply to me calling him Jinx instead of Master Jinx.

I shivered at the gentle touch and continued to look at him, unsteadily. My long, dark hair created a barrier between us and the outside world. It pooled beside his face like a peaceful waterfall. Where was this leading to?

"You're blushing," He told me, tucking a piece of my thin hard behind my ear.

His words inflamed my cheeks even more and I looked away nervously. Suddenly, I felt his hands move from my arms to my waist where my tank tops ended. My eyes examined him, darting all over his face and down to his chest. His fingers crawled under my tank tops and gave my skin little goosebumps.

I was at a loss for words, so when I opened my mouth, not even a stammer came out. He moved his hands up my shirt even farther and pulled it up, revealing my pale stomach. He ran his fingers across the smooth landscape, and dipped into my small bellybutton. Carefully, he pulled my tank tops off over my head and began dragging it down my arms. I was paralyzed with shock. I had never done this before and had no idea how to act. I did not want this, not at all, and my body was in perfect harmony with my thoughts.

He lifted my hands up so he could completely remove it. After that was done, he flung it across the room and put his eager hands on my shivering side again. They slid up to my striped bra, one of the things Naomi had given me. He put his hands behind my back and started to undo the button that held my bra up.

That was when he noticed I was trembling. He looked at me with a frown upon his face. I could not blame him, I never told him I did not like it. My words never yelled stop.

"Am I that repulsive to you?" He asked me with anger. Was he covering up his true emotions by being angry?

I pulled back from him and watched him move to sit on the corner of the bed. Moving towards him on the bed, I responded sincerely. "No," well at least when he wasn't drinking blood. I stopped behind him.

He snapped his head to face my direction, "But that's not entirely true, is it Roxanne?" He paused and looked down.

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I don't like you." It did not mean I liked him, either.

Jinx stayed silent. Perhaps that was his one weak spot, or was it me? I frowned and hesitated. Clamping my eyes shut, I set my right hand on his right shoulder tentatively. When nothing bed happened I released the hold on my eyes and watched him.

"Then why?" He asked me, his madness slipping out of place. He was hunched over, the scars on his back stretching themselves out. My eyes followed them while I thought why.

Then I realized that I had hurt his feelings when he saw how I refused him. How was I to word what I wanted to say right? "We aren't married."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jinx sighed deeply.

"I'm not having sex before I get married, I told you that before."

"Well I don't remember that," he grumbled under his breath. He looked like he needed comfort.

"Oh Jinx," I said and wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his back. I was stepping over the line of my comfort zone, but if that was what it took to make our relationship progress, that was what I would do.

"It's _Master_ Jinx," He said softly, not really pushing for it.

Perhaps I would comply for now, "Yes, Master Jinx."

**Roxanne seems to have temporarily forgotten about Alex :o Should Roxanne become a vampire so she can stay with Jinx? Or do you want Roxanne to end up with Alex?**


	10. Ten

Hi Everyone!

I'm so behind on my word count D: I need to catch uppppp!

How about I update every **Monday**, **Wednesday**, & **Friday**[With additional updates every so often]? These chapters will most likely be a bit longer, maybe they will all be in the 3000s... heh heh heh. :3

Chapter Ten

"Remind me why we're out here." I said, as I was beginning to feel more comfortable around Jinx.

Jinx and I were out in his courtyard, by the gardens. The night was the worst night to be out there, it had just finished raining outside a few hours ago. The ground was damp, the grass was slick, and the dirt in the garden had turned to mud that was just waiting to dirty my clean clothes.

The moon shone brightly above us, creating a glow that we could see the garden by by. The mansion was a great, big, dark, hulking shape that I could not make out any specific details on. Black silhouettes of chimneys and towers rose from it and very barely visible against the dark night sky.

"Would you rather be trapped inside all day and night?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

I sighed and bent over to smell a rose. "Not really." I eyed him and stood back up. "Do you think Naomi will kill me for wearing jeans while I'm in public?" I was at least wearing a nice shirt, though not one I especially enjoyed.

"You should be more worried about what I think about that," he murmured, his eyes examining me.

My lips formed a frown. "You'd prefer me without clothes." From our excursions the night before, I could say that confidently. A border between us seemed to have broken last night, I felt more at ease around him... Slightly that is.

"Is that an offer?" He interrogated me seductively, his voice purring. Jinx took a step in my direction.

My tiptoes pulled me away, skipping. "Negative." That would not be happening. I twirled away from him, playfully.

With a sudden slip, I fell back painfully on a large puddle of mud. "It rains too much here," a pout covered my face. The mud was all over me; in my hair, on my arms, over my clothes.

Jinx's mouth was able to resist smiling for a second but it soon succumbed, grinning at me. "Perhaps you would like to go in and clean up now?"

My head nodded for me. For a second I waited to see if he was going to hold a hand out to help me up. Then I realized I was perfectly alright without his help and attempted getting to my feet. The mud was too slippery, though. With another plop, I feel back to the ground, getting even messier to my grand horror.

"Roxanne, do you need a hand?" He asked with an amused expression.

In my soft voice, I responded fiercely. "I'm fine."

"That's what it looks like." Jinx said caustically, and still made no move to help me up.

"Shut up," I looked up at him, annoyed.

His eyes displayed pleasure in our conversation."Or what?"

I fumbled with my words but ended up just sticking my pink tongue out at him. He laughed and held out a hand for me, finally. So he could be somewhat like a gentleman. I settled my hand upon his and let him pull me up easily. He had put too much force in his help; I fell into his chest. Realizing I had gotten him muddy, I grinned devilishly.

"You're welcome," the words escaped my mouth as soon as I pulled away.

"I should have known it would be a bad idea to bring you out here."

We reached his room shortly after we left the garden. Jinx pushed the door open and sauntered in. I followed him in and closed the door gently behind me.

"I'm going to take a shower to clean off," I told him and moved for the bathroom.

He fluidly asked me. "Would you like me to help you?" A grin spread across his face as I scowled at him. "I supposed that would be a no?"

"Correct," I said and slithered into the bathroom. I turned the lock, though Heavens know that it had not been effective the first time around.

Flipping the fan on, I grabbed a new towel from the rack and threw it over the side of the shower, letting half of it hang over. I discarded my dirty clothes onto the ground and stepped into shower. The clear and pure water that poured from the shower head went down the drain as filthy, muddy water. My fingers scrubbed at my scalp with fierce actions, aching to get all of the mud out until the hair was sparkling clean.

As soon as I had gotten all the mud out of my hair as possible, which was hopefully all of it, I began to scrub it off of my body. It was caked on my elbows and other, and especially the soles of my feet. The bar of soap proved to be useful. Sitting on the shower floor, I propped my leg up and harassed it with the soap. Bubbles appeared with the pressure and were quickly popped when the hot water splattered.

Running the soap over my legs, I grabbed his razor and began to rid my legs of their hair. Over the last days it had gotten unbearable, getting to the itchy stage. At the moment, I did not care at all who owned the razor I used, I just wanted to be relieved.

When the soap fell suddenly, I turned quickly with the razor in hand to save it. It sliced across my delicate skin as I reached for the soap. For a second nothing happened and I let out a sigh of relief, but then the scrape pricked with blood droplets that resembled a precious gem stone. My eyes widened, this was not going to be good. If it stopped bleeding quickly though, Jinx would never have to know about the incident. The droplets of ruby turned into a large flow, much to my dismay.

"Crap," I muttered and placed my leg under the steaming and pelting flow of water. It washed away the blood temporarily but as soon as I removed my stinging leg from the current, the points of blood came again.

I quickly finished shaving and turned off the shower. If I held a towel against it maybe it would stop bleeding; they always taught that pressure would stop a blood flow. I wrung out my hair and stepped out of the shower, dripping with warm water that almost instantaneously felt like ice on my skin when I contacted the air outside of the shower. I shivered and grabbed the towel. After quickly drying my hair and wiping down the rest of my body, I wrapped it around my leg.

"Please stop bleeding, please stop bleeding." I whispered fervently to my leg. Rocking back and forth on the side of the tub, I nursed my wound.

After a few minutes of holding the towel to my leg, I lifted it to see if the bleeding had stopped. There was a spot on the towel was covered light in my blood. My eyes drifted to my leg and saw that it had started collecting blood again. I definitely need a bandage for it. There were two options, to search through the bathroom or ask him for one. While in the process, I temporarily clothed myself in my matching underclothes I had been wearing earlier.

I opened all of the main drawers by the sink and then stopped, not being able to find any. Nervously, I called out. "Jinx, are you still there?"

"Yeah, why?" His low voice was puzzled. "Where else would I be?" I heard a slight mumble afterward that sounded something like, "It's _Master_ Jinx, not Jinx." I could not be sure that he actually said that.

Deciding to not answer his second question, I peeked my head out of the bathroom door to look at him.. "I'm bleeding and I can't find a bandage."

A pleased grin spread across his face, "Perhaps you would like help cleaning it up?"

"I'm alright with just a bandage." I stuttered and tripped over my word with my face turning red.

"Oh, don't be so boring Roxanne," he sighed wistfully and got up from his seat.

I gave him a look before I disappeared inside the bathroom, as I saw he was coming that way. "Stop being so perverted and I'll stop being boring." I countered.

I was hiding in the shower when he came in, not wanting to repeat the action of fainting when he had taken my blood. I heard him rummaging around inside a cupboard for quite a few minutes before he appeared to have found something.

Jinx pondered, and he closed the cupboard door. "Why are you hiding?"

"I'm scared you might take my blood," I admitted softly.

"I do have control over my thirst you know, and I did just have some.." I could imagine him raising his eyebrows while he said that. "You can trust me... most of the time." Dangerous.

"The other part of the time is what I'm worried about." I told him and saw him appear in front of me.

"Bra and panties?" He asked, looking over my slender and lithe body gently. "I was hoping you wouldn't be dressed." He let out an over exaggerated sigh and laughed.

"Just give me the stuff and leave," I told him, seething. He did not need to see me dressed like this.

He held it away from me. "I rather think you might hurt yourself again. Come out here and I'll fix you up."

I stuck my tongue out at him but was compelled to come out from my hiding spot. Jinx had me sitting on the toilet seat and then he crouched on a low stool that he brought over. With my bare leg on his knee, he wrapped the roll of fabric around my cut. Then he tore it off from the roll and then somehow got it to stay in place while he grabbed another role of material. He snuggly wrapped two pieces of tape around the fabric so that it would stay up.

"This might be a bit too much fabric but if you see any of the other vampires around here while you have a wound that was recently bleeding it wouldn't be good."

"So, like going in shark infested waters when you are bleeding is the equivalent." I stated.

"Exactly my point." Then he bent over and kissed the approximate spot I had cut myself, "All better." Jinx said and winked at me. It was nice like this, he had not been angry or scary recently. But he had been perverted, which was just as bad.

"Thanks," I said blushing. Inside, I yelled at myself for blushing at his remarks and actions.

He nodded and pointed to his lips, "How about a bit more of a thank you?"

Complying once more, I took my smooth leg off of his knee and quickly brushed my lips against his before darting off into the closet. Unknowingly to me, he sat there for a long moment and let his cheeks turn slightly... slightly pink.

While I was in the huge closet, I quickly took my phone from its hiding place and checked my messages. As I was doing so, I heard him turn the shower on. The water pelted down on him as I saw that I had three new messages from my mother, and a missed call from an unknown number.

I quickly returned my mother's three frantic messages and hid my phone again. I took a place on the couch and laid there, staring into the empty fireplace. When Jinx came out of the bathroom, he told me. "I have another meeting to attend to in a few minutes that I forgot about. Stay in here while I'm gone," he ordered me and went into his closet to change.

Now would be an ideal time to explore the mansion, or rather when he left it would be. I preoccupied myself by looking over the titles of the books he had while he was in the other room. When he finally came out in a suit and tie, my breath hitched unexpectantly. He looked very dashing. Jinx's suit fit him nicely, defining his good shape. It was not tight to his skin, but it definitely showed that he was muscular and strong. I turned my head away and hoped that he had not seen me gazing at him with wistful and yearning eyes.

Apparently, luck was not on my side that night. "You enjoy this?" He raised his dark eyebrows at me.

"I don't know what you are talking about," I mumbled to myself and looked down at my hands. Closely, I examined them, making a show of how I was ignoring him.

Suddenly he was leaning over the couch looking at me. His red eyes staring intently at me startled me into a sitting position. He brought his face close to mine and I pulled away with wide eyes. "You're so difficult to read." Jinx whispered in my ear, bringing my face close with his right hand.

I let out a short breath and timidly asked, "How long are you going to be gone?"

"Are you going to miss me that much?" He smirked; bright eyes shining.

I poked his handsome face away from mine and blinked. "What do you think?"

"I'd like to hear you tell me yourself," he told me, pulling away from the soft couch and me.

My mouth remained closed and I looked at him, waiting for him to answer my original question. He sighed, saddened by the fact that I was not playing along with him. Slinking towards the door, Jinx looked back at me with a now unreadable expression.

"I'll be back in a few hours," and then he was gone, closing the door behind him.

Great, I would be able to sneak out then and have some exploring time. Maybe I would find out the layout of this place so I would not get lost in the halls again.

**Dashing... lol. What do you guys think will happen next?**


	11. Eleven

Sorry this is so late. ;o; I can't wait for summer~ I'll actually have time to write then.

Also, thanks for your reviews everyone [: Reviews are inspiring :3 My teachers seem to think that giving us a lot of homework at the end of the year is fun D: But I only have one week of finals left and then summer.. :D

**Chapter Eleven**

The hallways were extensively long and complex, but I had found a balcony. A balcony! The view was wondrous as I gazed over the land and into the extremely long mountain range that surrounded the valley we were in. The cool night air brushed through my long hair, making it dance to the whooshing melody of the wind.

I let a sigh part from my lips and I stared up into the brilliant stars. They twinkled bravely against the midnight sky. The sight set me to thoughts. Did I want to go home? The merits of going home included being able to finish the last trimester of college, but would it be awkward to go back now? I had been gone for a while now, surely rumors were spread. If I did not go home I would have to find an excuse to tell my mother for leaving college, and then I would have to collect the things from my dorm room anyways. Before I even thought of staying here, I would make Jinx promise to let me stay in a different room than his. I had no friends or even acquaintances besides just a few people here. It was more than improper that I slept in his bed. If I did not stay at Jinx's mansion though, what would Jinx do to me? And along with that, he was interesting.

"There's no storm tonight," it was whispered by a familiar voice. "You can stop looking out for the clouds."

I turned around suddenly and stared at the man with surprise. "Alex?" The last time I had seen him, he was sleeping on his couch seemingly dreaming about me.

"What are you doing out here?" He questioned me.

"Jinx is gone at a meeting so I thought I might look around," I told him truthfully. My hand swiped the hair from one side of my head and brought it altogether on the other side. Nervously, I looked down and played with it.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, giving off a comic appearance. "Why does it matter if Jinx is gone or not?"

I put my hand over my mouth, I had forgotten that he did not know I was staying with Jinx. Fiddling my thumbs, I looked away. "There's a possibility that I'm staying with him."

"Why would you want to be with him?" Alex looked straight into my brown eyes with an odd expression. He leaned back on the soles of his bare feet. His was clothed in just a blue button up shirt that had a red tie, and a pair of black pants.

I faltered at his expression."What does it matter to you?"

His yellow eyes gazed down upon me with seriousness. "Jinx is a bad man."

Staring up at him in return, I became curious at his remark about the handsome man with whom I was staying with. "What makes you say that?" I regained some of my confidence and straightened my posture slightly.

Alex looked away to the mountain slopes. "I suppose he has not told you of his past at all then?"

"No..." I said, not understanding what Jinx could have done. Well, he sure was capable of doing bad things.

"Well then, I suppose you'll have to fish it out of him," he poked my nose with his pointer finger and turned to leave. Then looking back over his shoulder, he seemed as if he was about to add a tidbit of advice. But he didn't. Alex closed his mouth again and left jauntily.

I heaved out a large breath and leaned greatly on the balcony's delicately carved white railing. If I stayed against it for too long I would probably have a intricate design indented on my tender skin for an hour or so.

The wind blew peacefully and I sighed, letting it soothe out my body. My thoughts began to unwind and take form, helping me decide what I should do. I closed my bright eyes and embraced the quiet song of the winds.

Before I knew it, I could tell that the night sky had gotten slightly lighter. How long had I been here? I turned around and quickly found my way back into the long hallway.

Startled by the marble bust of a man on the wall, I found myself going back. I fell against a body and turned around in shock. Who was there?

I pulled back when I saw it was Jinx and instantly regretted exploring. Well, I regretted that he found me, finding the balcony was a good thing.

He stared down at me with fire burning in his narrowed eyes. Pushing my body against a wall, he disdainfully demanded to know what I was doing talking to that man. I stared up at him with fear.

Whispering that I was sorry, he just held me tighter to the wall. How did he know that I had been talking with a man though?

The glowing red eyes shone into mine and I trembled when his voice reached my ears. Jinx said his next words darkly and with a harsh tone, "I thought I told you to stay in the room."

I looked away and squeezed my eyes shut, terrified of him at the moment. What was he going to do?

"Why do you smell of another man?" He pulled away from me, holding my wrists to the wall with his arms fully extended. When I did not respond, he got madder. "Roxanne," he whispered in a deadly voice. Later I realized that he was feeling jealous, and maybe even betrayed. At the moment I just felt scared and I could not think straight for my life.

My mouth was paper dry and my lips felt chapped. I swallowed painfully.

Sharply, he pulled my chin up so I was forced to stare at his blood red eyes. My eyes closed on their own accord. They were forced open though when he growled my name. "Roxanne," He paused, adding emphasis to his anger, "who were you with?"

"A-Alex," I stuttered. He pulled away from me, leaving me to crumple to my knees on the cold floor.

His eyes burned into me. Why was this such a big deal to him? "You can go home for all I care." He spat and turned. His footsteps echoed down the hallway, leaving me on the floor.

"But Jinx," I called after him, finding that I had partially regained my voice.

Why was he acting like this? He should be taking my blood at my neck right now, not walking away and ignoring me. Not once did he turn back to look at me and all the while I stared after him in shock.

I contemplated my next plan of action for a many long minutes. When I finally just figured that I would go back to his room like everything was normal, I had to pull myself up from the floor. I staggered forward with a light head that was caused from getting up too quickly.

"Ouch," I mumbled, trying to regain my sense of direction.

When I finally remembered which way to go, I began to saunter off in the that direction. The trip to his room took me a solid five minutes, as I got turned around quite a few times. Matter cries were uttered when I ended up at the wrong door. But when I reached my destination I gave a silent cheer and knocked on the door lightly. I knew he could hear it.

There was no answer though. Jinx was definitely in there. My knuckles rapped on the door again, a bit louder. Still I heard nothing. I let out a guttural noise, disappointed. Third time was the charm though, right? I knocked on the wood even harder this time, in hope that if his hearing was failing him today he would be able to hear it no matter what.

Putting my ear to the door when I thought I heard a noise, I waited impatiently. Where else was I supposed to go? No matter my feelings from Jinx, I had to depend on him at the current time. "Jinx," I shouted in vain. "Open the door!"

When that did not work, I decided to just open the door. My fingers grasped the handle and twisted. The knob did not not turn with my hand though, it stood stationary. It was locked. Trying to open the door a few more times just gave my fingers a slight burn. Finally, I fell against the door and sank to the ground. I could not go to Alex; I had no idea where he was at the moment and that was why Jinx had gotten upset at me. Going back to the downstairs quarters was out of the option and my phone and wallet were still in his closet! I could not leave his room.

Then a thought occurred to me, I did know one other person besides Meredith, Jinx, and Alex. Naomi would help me! I hoped. Her room was easy enough to get to.

I sprang up with renewed energy and bounced to her room, which was down the hall a bit and past a few obstacles, with new life. Tentatively, I raised a fist to knock on her door. I slowly tapped the wooden door and waited while rocking back and forth on my feet. I did not care if my nervousness was showing. Suppressing a yawn, I was startled when the door opened to reveal a tall, thin man with wiry framed glasses.

"Yes?" He asked, hanging his head out the door, reminding me a vulture somewhat. "How may I assist you tonight?" He had a perfect British accent and he seemed very knowledgeable.

At his peering gaze, I shrank back. "I-is Naomi there?"

"Ah, Naomi," He turned his head back and leaned into the room a bit. "Naomi, you seem to have a visitor."

Suddenly, Naomi appeared with her auburn hair flowing fluidly through the air. Her eyes brightened when they met my face and she ran to me with a joyful expression. "Roxanne!" She squealed.

The man stepped back and looked at me studiously. "So you are the Roxanne my dear Naomi has told me about." By the way he spoke of her it was clear that they were more than just roommates.

Naomi nodded energetically. "Roxie, I don't think you have met my man yet."

I shock my head for a no. Before I could let any words out, Naomi dragged me inside and motioned from the man to close the door. She guided me to a couch in the middle of their room and let me sit down.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Roxanne. I am Henry Longwood." Longwood... Longwood... Why did that sound so familiar? A sudden hand in front of me startled me to look up, but then I realized he was holding it out so he could shake my own hand. I offered my small hand and gave his large one a dainty shake.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance," I mumbled after his greeting as I was unsure of exactly what to say to him.

Naomi broke the silence by getting straight to the topic. "Is there a reason that you're here?"

I started off nervously. "It seems that Jinx has gotten very upset at me." Switching positions on the couch, I played with my hands.

Henry smiled vaguely. "That is characteristic of him."

Naomi set a look to Henry who was sitting back on the couch in a relaxed position. "Be quiet Henry." Then she turned her fair face to meet mine. "Why?"

"Why did he get mad at me?" I asked her question to myself aloud. "He told me to stay in the room, and I didn't."

When I did not say anymore, Naomi had to continue to pry. "Oh?" She leaned forward, interested in the situation that was happening.

I looked away. "I wanted to see if I could find my way around up here-"

"You realize that you going around up here, as a human, is quite dangerous, correct?" He rudely interrupted me. Hmm, his appearances did not seem like someone who would be rude as such. Further proof that looks don't say anything about who you really are.

"Henry!" Naomi whispered to him and gave him a soft nudge to the shoulder, "be quiet."

I opened my small mouth again. "I ended up on a balcony and then I guy I met on my first day here came and spoke with him a bit..."

"Who?" Naomi asked but cut off short when Henry placed his hand on hers so that I could continue.

"Anyways," I paused. "The guy left and then I ran into Jinx. Somehow he knew that besides just leaving his room to look around, I had been in the same room as another man." Taking a deep breath, I went on. "Jinx got really mad at me and then told me that I could just go stay with the man I had been talking with earlier." I recounted the tale to their eager ears.

Naomi looked at me with quizzical eyes. "Did anything else happen after that?"

"I called after him as he walked away, and then I went to his room. I came here after that." I told her truthfully. "What do I do?" I wailed to her finally.

She reached for my hand and squeezed it. "Oh Roxie, you've gotten yourself into a small mess. I'll help you solve your problems, don't worry anymore."

She exchanged glances with Henry before standing up and giving me an offer. "Would you like to stay here for the day, honey?" Naomi asked me kindly.

"I don't exactly have anywhere else to go..." Trailing off, I looked at her with a small smile. "It'd be great if I could sleep here today."

**Ahhhhhh~ Jinx better make up with her.**


	12. Twelve

Yeah, those updates during the summer... they rocked your world, eh?

Sorry 'bout that... here's a little Christmas gift to ya'll who waited so patiently! [:

[I rewrote this 3 or 4 times!] Also, I'm working on the next chapter. Hopefully have it up in a few days but don't kill me if I don't please. [:

Chapter Twelve

Outside, the off-white moon shone brightly upon the silhouettes of the swaying trees. The expansive field of grass was illuminated by the soft light that hung in the night sky. Small pin points of stars twinkled brightly in the early night sky, new ones appearing as the sky progressively got darker.

Inside the mansion, I rolled over on the couch lazily with my eyes still shut tight from sleeping all day. I let out a large moan and stretched out on my pale stomach. My long arms reached for the ceiling temporarily and then fell to the couch with a soft thud, giving up.

Begrudgingly my eyes opened a crack and I expected to be blinded by the room's light. But to my surprise, the main light of the room was still off; although, a few candles were lit about the room romantically. Smiling to myself, I told my brain to remember that for Jinx's bedroom. It created a nice, peaceful mood. Then perhaps, it would be more cozy in there.

The night before came rushing back to me in an instant. Would I ever be in Jinx's room again? He had gotten fairly mad with me about what I had done. I stuck my tongue out at the thought of him, childishly. With a huff I rolled onto my left side and faced the back of the comfortable couch. I fell in and out of a restless sleep for the next two hours before I had finally had enough of the constant waking up. Sitting up, I stretched my tired muscles once again. This thing with Jinx was bothering me a bit more than I liked to admit.

"There's a room that's not in use on the other side of this floor, would you perhaps like to live in those rooms until you can make amends with Ixie?" Naomi suggested on the second day that I was staying with them.

I smiled at her. "That would be nice. Is it really okay though?"

She nodded. "Of course! Come, I'll show you to them now." I began to realize that she was anxious to get me out of her rooms. For although she was quite energetic and a very good at socializing, Naomi wanted space for just her and Henry.

As she walked me down the halls, my eyes wandered. They studied the designs and portraits on the hallway walls. "How old do you suppose those are?" She looked back at me and shrugged.

The next few days, or rather nights, went by slowly. As I was walking down one of the hallways, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Narrowing my eyes at the faraway figure, I tried to focus in. My eyes acted like the lens of a camera, slowly fading into focus on the right object. Strong and tall, Jinx was walking with his hands in his pockets. As soon as our eyes met and I blinked, he was gone. Looking down the hallway once again, I saw no one.

I was sitting with Naomi in a dining room. Since I had moved to my own chamber, I had not talked with Jinx once. It felt pointless to be in his home now that he was avoiding me. Naomi seemed like she kept an even balance between us, spending time with me when I was feeling lonely and also helping Jinx cool down his random temper bursts that he was prone to. I was positive that she had stuff about Jinx that she was hiding from me, for she seemed to be full of secrets, like a magic box that just waited for a key to be turned in its lock so it could spew out terrifying truths. There was a hot plate of breakfast before me; the space in front of her was empty. I stared down at my food and picked at it with the fork in my hand. The scrambled eyes tumbled across the plate as they were slid around, bumping into the bacon bits. Black specks of pepper covered the pale yellow food, just waiting to accentuate the taste in my mouth. I couldn't think about eating it though, it just seemed so unappetizing at the moment.

My fingers tapped the edge of the table as I prepared to argue with her. For, to me, it no longer seemed correct for me to stay in the home of a man who disliked me. I also needed to get back to college. They probably, at least hopefully, had search parties going for me, for I had not used my phone in some time. Actually, I would be hurt if they did not have any. After all, I had been gone more than two months and the exchanging text messages with my mother had stopped a while ago.

"I want to go home-" I began evenly, head held high and shoulders pointedly back, in a prideful poise. Turning her head in the other direction; Naomi ignored me. "Naomi, there's no reason for me to be here anymore. Jinx was the one who brought me here in the first place and now that he has told me to scram, I am just intruding on you for no reason at all."

Her eyebrow twitched and she looked up at me severely. "Will you stop saying that?"

"What do you mean?" I asked her without patience. "He's been avoiding me!"

"You have to stop saying that you want to go home!" She told me angrily, which was quite a sight. "Do you not realize how much Jinx – "

"Look Naomi, once he found out that I had been talking to Alex he-"

"You were talking to _Alex_?" Her facial expression took a whole different turn. "Do you not know their history?" She was outraged, and talking in a loud voice that made all the heads in the room turn towards us. "His reaction makes sense now."

I gave her a disdainful look, did she not realize anything? "No, I don't actually. Maybe you could understand that I was kidnapped and dragged here by the lunatic that everybody calls Master?" My fingers continued to tap the cold wooden table top as I stared at her with defiance.

Naomi took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Listen Roxanne," her serious mode had been automatically turned on somehow. "I know you have had one hell of a time here. But will you just hear me out before saying or doing anything else?"

At the sudden change of mood I twisted uncomfortably in my seat. My eyebrows hung on my forehead with anticipation. I just could not understand why there was such a big deal about me talking with Alex. "Yeah, fine."

"Alright then, thank you. I think knowing this will help you understand the situation much better." She paused momentarily. "I, myself, do not exactly know everything that happened or why. So I suppose I should not build up how much I know. You'll have to find the rest out from Ixie or maybe Henry knows?" I opened my mouth to say something but she didn't give me the opportunity to let words escape. "Jinx and Alex have known each other for a long, long time now. They used to be good friends even, but one day something changed."

"Jinx did have quite the reaction when I told him I had been talking to Alex." I input before she could stop me.

"Roxie, one more time-" She threatened.

"-Go on," I urged her.

"This happened before I ever met Henry so it really was quite a while ago, though I guess that really doesn't give you a time mark..." I shook my head; it did not help me understand how long ago it occurred. "Anyways, Jinx had a sister-"

"Had? He doesn't anymore?" This was the first I had ever heard of a sister.

"Roxie can you not just shut up for one minute?" There were deep wrinkles in her forehead from her elevated brows and there was an upset frown on her face. "Do you want to know or not?"

"Sorry," I whispered and crouched back in my chair.

"What I saying? Oh yes! So, Jinx had a sister." She confirmed that her grammar was right when she saw my look of befuddlement. "Yes, had, not has. She was quite the beautiful girl, though I suppose once people are dead they are built up to more than they really are. She was young and sophisticated; sought after by many men. One of those men happened to be Alex, though I do not believe that bothered Jinx too much. He approved of his friend and his sister being together, until, well... I know that Alex did something to her and Ixie was not happy at all!"

I looked at her expectantly.

"That's where my knowledge gets fuzzy."

I gaped at her, judging. "So you have that huge reaction against Alex but, you don't even know what he did to Jinx?"

"I know it was bad."

"How did she die? At least tell me that."

She shrugged. "He avoids the topic, obviously."

"Do you not think that it's suspicious he didn't tell you?"

"No..."

"Naomi!" I admonished her.

"What are you trying to suggest?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing, I just I think you should know what happened to her." I said. "Have you ever seen those murder investigation shows? This is almost perfectly like one."

She rolled her eyes. "Now, that, you are taking too far."

I looked at her with unbelieving eyes. "You want me to stay here, then, and get back into the good graces of Jinx? That's going to be impossible, you realize."

"Step one might be to start referring to him as Master Jinx, not just Jinx." Naomi pointed out blandly, holding up her pointer finger. "You said that Jinx was avoiding you whenever you saw him, how?"

"Whenever he sees me walking down the hall he somehow vanishes or turns the other way. I don't think he really wants to get on better terms with me. Tell me, Naomi, does he ever mention missing me? Or perhaps he says something about letting me go home?" Still stuck on the unbelieving aspect of things, I was.

"Don't be like that, Roxie."

"How do you expect me to be? How am I supposed to react?"

Naomi took a large sigh. "I know that the two of you really did not get to know each other very well-"

"Didn't get to know each other my ass!"

Naomi's thin eyebrows furrowed. "When did you start swearing?"

I ignored her and continued. "I know Jinx, straight on and through! He's high on his horse and thinks that he's my superior."

"Roxie, dear, he _is_ your superior. He's everyone's superior here, that's why everyone calls him Master Jinx. I'm sorry to say hun, but, I think you're the one mostly in the wrong here." Naomi looked at me with pity.

"First, you don't call him Master so why should I? Second, how am I in the wrong? Perhaps if Alex really is all that bad, I did something not right but I had no idea about him! Jinx knew that and he just threw me out. Lastly, he kidnapped me! Kid-napp-ed," I drew the word out with emphasis. "I don't understand how you can be on his side after he's done all of that."

Naomi was silent and closed her eyes. Then, she looked up into my eyes. "Look, Roxie. I can't make you understand. Just... take a deep breath for me right now, alright?"

"Fine." I frowned, and took a breath and let it out quickly.

"You know what I mean, Roxie." She said, and I saw some emotion flicker behind her eyes. Was that impatience? "Take a deep, relaxing breath. Let yourself calm down and think straight."

"I don't want to." I stubbornly replied, crossing my arms.

"I don't care-" She paused, and then took it back. "Please, Roxie. Just let me walk you through this." Leaning back in the chair, Naomi shifted into another position. Finally complying, just for her, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and then another. "Alright, Roxie, will you answer a few questions for me?" Nodding, I slowly opened my eyes and looked into hers. "I want you to tell me, do you truly hate Ixie?" My head shook, back and forth. My eyes shifted downward and studied my hands. "Good," she smiled at me. "What, then, are your feelings for him?"

There was long silence before I responded. My mind clicked through several memories of him, trying to get an accurate picture. The sounds of the others in the room slowly faded as my lips opened.


	13. Thirteen

I'm pondering the idea of putting this story on a different website of my own. What do you think of that? It would be either Blogger or Freewebs.

PS. The band The Civil Wars is ah-mazing! Listening to them on Pandora is like a tidbit of heaven.

Chapter Thirteen!

"I-" pausing, I frowned. "If I had to-" Naomi was watching me with guarded eyes. "I don't know," finally crying out in distress, I told her. "My feelings for him are a jumble of emotions."

Naomi seemed to ponder my words for a moment before she opened her lips to respond. "That's understandable, considering all that's happened. But you really need to make a decision on this, Roxie, before anything can happen." She leaned across the table and propped her chin on the palms of her hands. Searching my face, Naomi's eyes jumped about my features.

Pulling back from her, I scouted my butt back in the chair. My back became one with the carved dark wooden structure as I pressed myself into it. "Can you give me a bit longer to think about this?"

She nodded, disappointed, and retreated back to her own chair, "don't wait too long."

"Do I have to finish this?" I gestured to the food in front of me, no longer steaming hot or even close to that temperature. Cold and unwanted, it sat there forlorn.

Naomi shook her head, "you can just leave it there." Pushing the plate aside, I laid my head on the table. "I wasn't done with my questions, by the way."

"By all means, continue." I waved a hand and closed my eyes. With my ear pressed to the wood of the table, I could hear the quiet drumming of fingers vibrating through. Naomi muttered something under her breath and sighed. Brushing the hair away from my upturned ear, I tried to listen in.

"Tell me, at least, do you hate Ixie?"

"Of course not," I mumbled, the table against the left side of my mouth made it more difficult to speak, immediately.

"Good, do you love Jinx?" She took my answer into account, and reasoned through my reaction.

I did not speak right away that time, "Define love."

"That's all I needed to hear. Would you rather go back to college and be welcomed back by all of those people and explain where you had been or," pausing for effect, she waited. "Would you rather stay here and fix things with Jinx, who really hasn't done too much wrong to you?"

I tried to shrug but, the table didn't accept my motion. "My mother's worrying about me and I'm so close to finishing the year out but..." Trailing off, I stopped.

She waited a few seconds before prodding, "but?"

"I don't exactly like college, the girls weren't exactly very nice to me all of the time and it'd be hard to catch up on all that I've missed so far."

"So those are the pros and cons of going back." Naomi decided for me. "What about staying here?"

I pursed my lips while thinking. "Jinx is... well, he doesn't exactly have tact in anything he does, not to mention that he probably has some untreated mental disorder and he's forceful. And, not to mention, he drinks blood!" I sat up, abruptly, and leaned all the way across the table. "What's that all about?"

"How about we focus on the reasons why you would want to stay here?"

My words were heartless, and disregardful of Naomi. "Why would I _want_ stay here?"

"I'm here," Naomi stated, her eyes falling down. "I'm something good about this place, aren't I?"

I felt a drop inside me. "Yeah. You're something good." Looking away, I licked my lips nervously preparing to tell her my decision again.

She beat me to it. "You want to go home then, huh?"

"Yeah." I nodded, sad to have to leave her. It was what had to be done though. I did not belong there in the mansion with them and even my kidnapper did not want me anymore. What did that say about me?

Naomi stood up from her chair, abruptly. Her chair scraped across the ground as she scouted it in, using more strength than was necessary. "You need to talk to Jinx." Her back was turned to me.

Staying there, I groaned and fell back to the table. "Really?" I complained and pouted. "Can't I just leave without seeing him again?"

Her words were stiff. "He has to know what is happening in his household, Roxanne."

"Why are you using my full name?" I frowned and looked up at her.

She turned around to face me. "Don't you understand? I don't want you to leave me!" The heads in the room all shifted to watch Naomi shatter.

"Let's go somewhere more private to talk about this," I said, standing up.

Ushering her out of the room and down the hallway, I brought us to the elevator. Pressing the button, we waited for it to ding. The dark wooden walls around us started to make me feel claustrophobic so I shifted uneasily. I glanced down at my feet, and examined my shoes. This place was like a huge hotel, how did people stand living here all their lives?

The doors slid open to reveal a man in flunky clothes. With messy hair and a yellow shirt and purple blazer, there he was. I stared at him with shock.

"Oh hello, Roxanne!" He said delighted, clapping his hands together. "It's been so long since I've last seen you."

"Getting out?" Naomi growled at him, nostrils flaring.

He was taken aback at her reaction and slid out of the elevator. "Yes, I am." He glanced at me with curious eyes. "Is it my clothing?" He whispered as he passed by me, a lingering smile lighting up his face.

I laughed to myself, not completely sure what to do. "It could be," I told him under my breath as I began to pass into the elevator. "She's very particular about clothing."

"I see that she has you dressed in some very nice clothes," he commented. "They don't go together though, yellow and purple is a perfect combination. But those," he glanced down at my colour coordinated clothing with distaste. "It doesn't work, dear."

I grinned, it didn't reach my eyes, and disappeared behind the closing doors. "You can't be talking to him anymore, Roxie!" Naomi told me off as she selected a level and we set off in a upwards direction. "He's what you into trouble in the first place!"

"It doesn't matter now, does it? I'm leaving." I told her, staring forward into the glassy walls of the lift. My face seemed red, and if I looked close enough, Naomi's eyes were pink-rimmed.

The elevator dinged and came to a slower speed, halting. The mirror-like doors opened for us. Watching Naomi, I waited for her to get out first. She stepped the door way, out in the hall, and turned right. My own feet carried me out before the door closed with a silent clamp. Until I was all the way out in the hall way, I didn't realize just where I was.

As soon as I realized, I said. "You're kidding me, Naomi. I thought we were just going somewhere quiet, not here!"

"It is quiet here," Naomi told me. Grabbing my wrist, she tugged me forward until I relented. "Be cool with this, alright? I'll drag him outside the door and then make him talk with you."

"Naomi," I complained, dragging her name out unnecessarily. "Why can't we do this later?"

She ignored my comment and led me down the halls. I took the time to look at the other doors, wondering if they too had the plates as Naomi's and Jinx's did. The golden plaques were hung out on the doors but, I couldn't see a fancy script carved into most of them.

Suddenly, I noticed that my feet weren't being forced along anymore. Yanking my wrist from Naomi with more force than needed, my arm flung back. She turned back to me with a stern gaze. "Roxanne," my name was spoken kindly by her mouth. "Promise you'll stay here and talk?"

"Yeah, yeah." I said obediently, watching her intently.

"Go hide behind that," she pointed to a close by object that would conceal me for the time being. When I didn't make a move to go, she waved me off impatiently. "Go!"

Breathing always seems louder when hiding from someone or something. That was true in my case right now, too. My inhaling and exhaling seemed as if they would take over the sound a gong makes when hit. My fingers fidgeted as I played around with the wording of my message to him. They ran through my head in jumbles and crashed into each other, not wanting to be clear for me. I peeked my head around the corner, thinking that Naomi would surely be waiting for me to make my appearance. Instead, she was just reaching her hand up to knock when she saw my head. Ushering me to go back into hiding, she gave me a look. Obeying her command, rather reluctantly, I ducked my head and shoulders back behind the corner. My fingers curled around the strands of my hair as I held my breath, waiting for the dreadful knocking of Naomi's hand.

_Rap_. _Rap_. _Rap_.

They tapped on the door softly, politely. I released the air from my lungs, feeling my pulse speed up. Shifting my feet, I leaned on my right side. When was I supposed to go over there? We had never discussed this! I was about to peep my out again but immediately pulled back when I heard a door open with a click. The wood of the door brushed the wood of the door frame briefly as a man answered the knocking.

"Naomi," he murmured just loud enough for me to hear, sounding sleepy. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to say hi." She asked him, "are you busy right now or can you talk for a little bit?" I imagined her brushing the auburn hair of her's over her shoulder. I drummed the wall quietly with my finger tips and bit my lower lip.

No one spoke for a minute, and I waited as minutes seemed to drag by before he responded. "What did you want to talk about?"

"That's the thing," Naomi paused, seemingly searching for words. "I'm not the one who needs to do the talking."

That was my cue to come out, I guessed. Still fixed on Naomi, Jinx didn't notice me step out and slowly walk up to them. "What?" he looked at her with befuddled eyes. I cleared my throat and looked at him guiltily.

"I'll leave you two alone." Naomi said, walking down the hall. Turning back, she addressed Jinx. "Would you please listen to her? She has something important for you." Then, without accepting any response, she disappeared. I twiddled my thumbs, unsure of how to start and how he would react.

"Roxanne." He said with a slight nod of his head, staring into my eyes but not really seeming to be seeing me. It was as if he was seeing past my body and gazing into oblivion.

Sorry this isn't an extremely long chapter... I wanted to end right here for suspense! ;D

Don't forget to let me know whether or not you would still read this if it was on Blogger instead!


	14. Fourteen

Hehe, sorry guys. ^^;

Chapter Fourteen

I shifted the weight on my legs, going to my left side. "I need to talk to you." My green eyes searched his and I craned my neck to be able to see them. Why did he have to be so much taller than me?

"Naomi made that apparent." His eyes traveled down the hall to where she had disappeared off to. "What do you want?" My eyes instantly fell down from the heights of his eyes to the ground. The coldness of his voice struck the silent air. My heart began to feel heavy in my chest but I resisted the urge to leave right then and there.

I forced my my mouth open to speak but then gave in and closed it. Was I really feeling bad for this monster? Shaking the feeling off as much as I could, I prepared myself. "I want to go home." Clenching my fists, I waited for him to say his unreasonable answer of 'no'.

Yet, I was disappointed. "Fine," he said. "Naomi probably hasn't gone too far. Go tell her to lead you to the entrance." He began to close the door to his room, and his mouth was encompassed by a yawn.

His figure blurred in my sight and I blinked my eyes, taking away the overwhelming wetness welling up in my eyes. The contagion of the yawn transferred to me, letting out a squeak I yawned. Stopping the door with my hand, I finished my yawn and said urgently, "Jinx, you can't just leave me like this!"

He turned around and stood there, watching me with his tired eyes. His large hand rested on the door, ready to close it. "I'm not leaving you. You're leaving me."

"You won't talk to me anymore, you threw me out! The least you could do is take me home personally." I stood before Jinx, my eyes wide open and mouth agape.

"Fine," he said coldly. "Let's go." He disappeared inside his room momentarily. The distinct jiggle of keys resounded in his hand as he walked out. The door slammed behind him as he started down the hall, an aurora of anger emitting around him.

"On second thought, uh, Jinx," I nervously shifted my weight on my legs and looked around. "Maybe I'll ask Naomi to send me home," he glanced back to me but did not stop, "or something..." Trailing off, I realized I was stuck in this position.

"No, I'm bringing you home." Jinx decided and continued going. "Come on," Jinx added when I still didn't follow. I took a small step on, after him, and berated myself. I couldn't have known this was going to happen but, I should have just left without telling him. My eyes kept moving to the side of my head, glancing backwards in hope to see Naomi somewhere.

Then a thought occurred to as I finally kept the pace with him. My eyes flickered to his face, and ran along his tensed jaw line. He seemed to be flexing it in aggravation. Was he really that filled with anger about me? Perhaps it was something else, it could have something to do with the meetings he frequented. Hanging back, I softened my steps, timidly. At least I was going home, right? Did I have my phone? I fingered my pocket, searching for the hard object. My hand bumped the phone and I felt a sense of relief.

Jinx opened several doors and led me down a few staircases. He rounded corners and made a totally confusing time of getting to his car or where ever he was leading me. My thoughts began to wander off into the distance, just staying with me enough so I could follow the dark shadow ahead of me. I couldn't believe I was actually going home.

"Get in," he muttered and suddenly stopped walking. Bumping into him, I felt a sense of surprise. Were we at his car already? How did we even get here so fast? He looked at me from over his shoulder and I backed up quickly until the steady glare. Jinx stood beside the passenger door in the large garage with an expectant look on his sharp face. What was he doing? I gave him a look and he repeated, not unkindly but also not nicely, "get in the car."

Complying, I walked past him to open the door of the roofless car and get in. What surprised me though, was that he grasped the handle, before I could, and pulled the door of his sleek black car open for me. I paused, examining his face, and slid onto the leather seat. Groping for the seat belt, I pulled it across my chest and latched it in. My eyes followed Jinx as he walked around the front of the car; his hair was messier than usual. His shoulders were slouched as he got in the car himself. The keys turned in the ignition and the engine gave off a gentle purr.

I watched as he shifted into reverse, and we began to roll of out the garage as the great door opened to the dark wilderness outside. Glancing over, I saw he wasn't wearing h/is own seat belt. I frowned but decided not to say anything. After all, who know what he would do if I said something about it.

As Jinx shifted back into drive, he accelerated quickly down a stone path. I glanced around, having not seen this part of the mansion before. We were surrounded by lush dark green bushes and we drove in a semi circle around an island of brightly coloured flowers that sprung with life. The moon gently bathed them in its soft, peaceful rays. My hair started to fly about my face as Jinx continued to accelerate faster and faster. Fighting to get a grasp of my hair, I tried to pull it back with my hand. A tendril flew out of my hand and waved in the wind towards the mountains, heeding me no attention.

A soft capping of snow cloaked the peaks and seemed to glow in the moon's light. "Hold on," Jinx advised out of thin air and before I could grasp onto anything, he took a sharp turn about a bend in the room. Tilting towards the door, my body rocked back and forth as he sped down the winding road.

"Could you maybe drive slower?" I finally had to ask, speaking my fears to him. In response, the car seemed to gain even more velocity but eventually the winding curves calmed significantly. Ahead, the road became full of gently swooping curves. "Jinx," his name slipped out of my mouth intentionally and I looked over at his stoic features with annoyance written over my whole face.

Jinx's eyes glanced over to me and then drifted back to the road. At first, I thought he had not necessarily heard me say his name but, he eventually got to responding. "What?" Taking one hand off the wheel, he slipped his arm over the shoulder of my seat.

I struggled to get the next words out of my mouth, and I formed several different ways to approach the topic. Taking a breath, "I'm sorry." I blurted out quickly, and his head turned to face mine rapidly. "When you saw me talking with Alex," his left hand visibly gripped the steering wheel more fiercely. "At that moment in time, I did not realize anything about your past with Alex which, I'm still not too informed on at this moment." I let the rest of my current breath and sucked in again. "I don't know why I'm apologizing to my kidnapper but," a tiny smile was placed on my face, "I am." When Jinx didn't reply right away I began to look down and picked at my nails. Once I could no longer endure the silence, I set my gaze upward and to left at Jinx. "If I had known who Alex was, I wouldn't have even gone close to him." Well, my thoughts weren't set on that yet. What if Naomi didn't have the whole story down correctly? Jinx didn't need to know that though.

His voice cracked when he spoke, I swore it did. "How much did Naomi tell you?" It didn't even sound like a question, more like, he was speaking monotonously to himself. Perhaps Alex really was horrendous, judging by Jinx's voice.

"Not too much," would he get mad at Naomi for her telling me about Alex? "She didn't know all of the details." I added wisely, to take heat off of my friend.

He nodded once and we sat in silence for at least twenty minutes as the gorgeous scenery swept past us. I gazed as the mountains twisting by us and felt highly insignificant compared to those monsters. It was almost like how I felt with Jinx, him being the superior; he was the giant mountain and I was just the little lowly sheep who got lost. Trees popped up into hordes along the landscape and as the sky changed to a deep hue of purple, the pine trees became detailed silhouettes against the majesty of the sky above us.

"Do you forgive me?"

Soft words uttered, just audible above the hum of the car and blowing wind.

Jinx exhaled and inhaled deeply before nodding. His eyes didn't stray from the road, and the head movement was enough for me. I leaned against the back of my seat, my head facing Jinx. As my eyes peacefully fluttered shut, I wondered how life would be after Jinx left, or rather if you wanted to be more correct, after I left Jinx.

The face of the moon moved slowly in the vastness of the sky, gradually getting higher and further to the other side. Small strips of clouds banded together above the horizon and then disappaited as they reunion came to an end. The occassional owl took it upon itself to call in the forest, spreading a message. A great gray one took flight and its wings flapped lazily in the still air. Hoots called after it from the distant critters in the trees.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I was aware of was Jinx's deep voice speaking to me. "Wha-?" I had to ask, not able to process his words. The very early morning chirps of two birds on the trees around us seemed to grow louder as I wakened further and glanced around.

"I said," his voice betrayed an ounce of his impaitent attitude. "We're here."

A horror began to fill me as I stared at the small, cozy house we were parked outside of. The outside lights were still turned on in the predawn hours, the sky still just a rosy dark pink fading into blue mixture. The lights were dim inside as I peered in the windows with narrowed eyes. I noticed the curtains of the kitchen window fluttered in the breeze of the vent as my eyes continued to scan the house. "How did you know where I lived?"

"You told me." He responded flatly, his hands playing with the leather that was encompassing the steering wheel.

I pulled back from him, skeptical of something I had no memory of. "When?"

"You talk in your sleep," his shoulders shook just slightly as if he were recounting something funny that I had said.

With embarrassment, I swallowed and forced myself to ask. "What else did I tell you in my supposed 'sleep'?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, not willing to betray anything else. "Nothing. Anyways, you had better get out and go back to your mother."

"Aren't you worried I'll tell someone about what you did?" I had to question him, not able to believe that he would just let me go like this. Where was his logic? If he still had any, that was.

"I sincerely doubt anybody will believe you were kidnapped by a handsome vampire such as myself who kept you hostage over a course of a few months, as I'm sure you would put it, and that one day you just simply asked to go home and he agreed to take you there."

"They'll be curious as to where I was." I frowned, "why'd you have to take me away that one night? This is so awkward!" Glaring at him as I complained, he raised his eyebrows at me, unimpressed.

"You'll come up with something. Besides, I was just helping you out." Heaving a heavy sigh of frustration with him, I opened the car door, stepped out, and slammed it shut. "Don't take your anger out on my car," Jinx berated me, disapprovingly. My bare feet brushed against the ground as I walked around the car to his door, ignoring what he had just said. Jinx's head looked down at my feet, realizing my feet were as bare as they were the night we met. His mouth opened to make a comment, I assumed, and so I stopped him by speaking first.

I muttered, "shut up," and spun away. Wow. What a way to go out, I instantly face palmed myself mentally. My feet began walking briskly across the small grass expanse and then to the sidewalk, eager to be in the comfort of familiar surroundings.

My feet gradually slowed and came to a dead stop though. The driveway on the left side of the house had two cars parked there. Two cars. Only my mother lived here now. Why were there two? That didn't make sense. The small red one that belonged to my mother, her air freshener still hanging on the mirror inside, sat there innocently. The other one, though, was a large black truck with a long box. Intruding upon the property, it was out of place. Was that my mother's male coworker's truck? It was! The same dent in the front right was there! Filled with a sudden anger, I spun around once again towards the car on the street, where a man still sat.

Heh, my writing's going down hill :[ Also, it totally matters whether a truck is a long or short box. Short boxes are dorky. ;] Show your masculinity by driving a long box truck! They're sexy!


	15. Fifteen

Hiii! What's been going on?

Thanks for your kind reviews guys, they keep me going! Smiley face

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Are you coming back for a goodbye kiss?" Jinx asked mischievously as he leaned back into his seat. I just glared at him, slammed the passenger door shut, and yanked the seat belt across my body. "Well, alright then." He shifted the car into gear and pulled back into the street. "Where to?" Jinx questioned as he sped through a red light, his foot never leaving the gas.

Shaking my head, I thought about how lucky we were that no cop cars were a– red and blue lights filled the rear view mirror on my side. "The side of the road I suppose," I grumbled, rubbing my forehead. Jinx didn't take his foot off the accelerator, our speed picked up as we weaved down the wavy road. Noticing this, I looked over at him. "Jinx... aren't you gonna slow down and pull over?"

He glanced over at me as we didn't slow down for the stop sign. "Why?"

Staring at him incredulously, I gripped the door, "because there's a police car behind us with its flashing lights and siren on?!"

He slowed down to stop for a stop sign but as soon as the other car had passed, he hit the gas once again with a smile on his face that I would have been studying if there weren't more distracting things at hand. The wail of the police cars blared and I repeatedly looked back. My clasped hands grew clammy as I continued to worry. "Stop worrying, I know what I'm doing."

I was getting fed up with the cocky attitude he had and, "Oh my God, Jinx! Just pull over already!" I threw my hands up, leaving the door side, and stared at him expectantly.

"Too late for that," he stated. "The cop's already been following us too long, and it looks like another one just joined him. No way we'd be getting off for this."

"Why the heck didn't you pull over in the–" my words were caught when he abruptly turned left, I grasped the door handle for dear life as we hurtled into the new lane. "–first place?" My heart was racing and I thought back to when Alex had told me about how everyone was allotted a certain number of heartbeats.

"I don't have a license." He told me and turned right, slower this time. In the mirror I could see a good three cop cars. This was not going to end well at all.

"You don't have your license?!" I yelled, angry. "What the heck?"

He didn't respond, just gripped the wheel tightly as we made another turn, speeding ahead of an incoming car. The trees blazed by us and I didn't even want to look at the speedometer.

Ahead of us, the red lights were flashing to show of a coming train and closing my eyes, I prayed that we would not be run over by the train as Jinx drove us over the tracks. The train was rushing closer and closer to us as we sped faster. That didn't deter Jinx; he pushed the pedal to the metal and we flew straight over the tracks, safely arriving on the other side. It was a stretch though, the train passed by just inches from the trunk. Jinx continued to speed down the road, hoping to be gone before the train ended and the cops could begin the chase again. I turned my whole body around and tried to count the cars on the train. It seemed to meander on forever down the tracks and for that I was thankful. The cops wouldn't be getting us today.

"See, it was fine." He grinned, still going faster than the limit posted on the side of the road. The road ahead of us was straight, with several adjacent roads heading off into wooded areas.

"Do you even know where we are?" I frowned, huddling into myself.

"I own a small lodge in the woods here."

"That doesn't sound sketchy at all," I commented, not exactly sure what to think. Soon we were driving regularly, the almost rising sun behind us. Curling up, I leaned my head against the seat, and closed my eyes, feeling tired.

A while later, I was awakened in a lit garage by a large hand on my shoulder. Stretching out, I could feel new kinks in my neck from the awkward position I had fallen asleep in. "Mmm?" I groggily questioned.

"We're here," Jinx told me and opened my car door, being unusually chivalrous. I clicked the seat belt off my body and sat up slowly. Rubbing at my eyes, he took me by my arms and dragged me out of the car. "Come on," he said, pulling me along to the door.

I let him lead me into the 'small' lodge, hoping he was bring me to a bed where I could get better sleep. As we stepped inside, the air was cold and a shiver went up my spine. Unconsciously, I huddled closer to Jinx and leaned into him. He looked down at me with a curious face and shut the door behind us. A light switched on, presumably by him and we continued into the lodge.

"I wanna sleep," I yawned widely, covering my mouth with a fist, not really bothering to look at my surroundings. Following close behind him, we walked down a long hallway and into a dark room with a bed. I heard the sound of the light switch being flipped and then a flash of light exploded in my eyes. Shielding myself with a hand, I tumbled onto the bed and crawled beneath the covers, shivering at its cool caress. "Good night," I murmured as my eyes fell heavy lidded.

"I'll be back in a bit," Jinx said as he brushed the light off and disappeared from the doorway just as I faded into a restless sleep.

A little while later, I was awaken by Jinx as he slid under the covers next to me. Rolling over, I faced my back to him and fluffed the pillow up, for it had sunk from the weight of my head. His strong hand wrapped around my body and tucked me close to him. At first I tried to struggle with my arms but, it seemed too difficult, my muscles were relaxed already. Snuggling his head into my neck, his hot breath gave me goosebumps and shivers went throughout my entire body. With my feet still tingling, I started to roll onto my stomach as to not be as near to him. However, Jinx's hand on my waist held me firm and his fingers tightened their grip slightly as my body began to move.

I knew what he was going to do just seconds before he did it. As his fangs struck my flesh, I opened my mouth to cry out. No sound came out though and the awfully odd feeling of blood being drawn made its way through my veins and chilled me. Goosebumps rose all over my body as he continued to suck. The hand around me flexed as he drew my blood and stayed that way as he pulled away from my neck. His cool tongue ran over the bite marks on my neck and I could hear him lick his lips.

When I was certain he was done, a wave of shame and guilt drifted over me for what reason I was unaware. Unconsciously, I brought a hand up to the bite marks and felt them with my fingers. The hand moved from my waist to my hand in an instant and his voice rumbled. "Stop, it needs air to heal." Enclosing my fingers in his, he moved our hands down again from my neck.

I unlaced my fingers from him and pulled away, already almost regretting my decision to not go home. But then, I remembered the co-worker's car in my mother's driveway and a passion overtook me. Sitting up from bed, I flowed over to Jinx's body without hesitation, pushing him down from his position on his side. Underneath the covers, I slid onto his hips and held myself up by placing my hands on either side of his waist.

"What are you doing?" He questioned with skeptical eyes, surprise evident.

I didn't respond. Splaying my hands on his bare chest, I slowly ran them down to the hems of his pants where-

He flipped me over suddenly, eyes flashing with lust. His dark eyes gazed into my own for a second until he brought his glance downward to see what I was wearing, and then back up. Our shared heat was making my face flush and even though we had yet to begin, my breaths were coming out in light pants.

"You have no idea how much I want to do this right now," Jinx started out, his voice strained, "but I know you're not in the right state of mind right now." I had grown used to the fact that he didn't think before he spoke and so his words were harsh. Even so, they hurt me. "I don't know why but, you decided to not home and I didn't think it was appropriate to bring up back to the mansion." Maybe he did think a little bit.

I still refused to give in, fighting for control, I tried to flip our positions. When that did not work, I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought his face closer to mine. Building up my courage, I pecked him on the lips once to test the waters. Finding no resistance, I deepened my next kiss with him.

Pulling away, I dropped my head to the pillow beneath it. His eyes were the brightest I had seen them yet and he yanked himself away from me. "Don't let me do something you'll regret." Turning away from me, he got up out of the bed and walked from the room silently, leaving me to my now awakened state.

Something I would regret? I knew that was a good sign, he didn't say that he would regret it, too. Somehow I couldn't help but feel a massive wave of hurt crash over my body at Jinx's words. Even more guilt surrounded me now, knowing that I shouldn't have been playing with Jinx, or trying to, in order to get back at my mother for spending the night with a co-worker. Coldness overtook my body, and I enclosed myself with the sheets and blankets on the beds, huddling against myself in embarrassment of what I had just done.

Still... it bothered me that he refused.

The next night, I woke up to a dark room. Stretching out my arms, I couldn't work out where I was. Then, it all came flashing back to me and I fell against the bed with a tomato red face. I had broken everything that I had stood for last night. Oh, how he was going to throw it in my face when I saw him!

Rolling out of bed reluctantly, I made sure it was the right side because I didn't want to be grouchier than what I already felt coming upon me. I smoothed my clothes down and felt my way to the door. I placed my hand on the cool knob, twisted it, and welcomed a breeze into the now stale smelling room. How had I not noticed that smell before?

I had no idea where anything was so I picked a random direction and followed it. After all, this was no mansion. The kitchen appeared before me, seemingly empty. Trudging in, I wiped my eyes of sleep and pulled the fridge open. Was there a chance of anything in there? There was a jug of water inside, and then large bottles of blood. That was it.

God. How much blood did he drink? That brought my mind back to the night before again and I brought my fingers up to my neck, feeling for the two irregularities in my skin from where he had bitten me.

I lingered out of the kitchen to the right and found a few doors. Peeking inside the first one, I was met with a bathroom. My hand flipped the switch for the light and the bulbs sprang to life. My tired reflection greeted me in the mirror and I leaned forward, noticing the two red dots on my neck. They were-

The reflection of Jinx's body passing by outside in the hall caught my attention and I walked out of the bathroom. "Hey," I squeaked, feeling the need to announce my presence. His head turned back to look at me, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"How did you sleep?" Jinx asked me as he turned back around and went into the kitchen.

My feet padded after him and I was confused that he had asked me something like that, "fine, thanks."

"Good," he commented. "There's no food here so I'm going to go to the store to pick some up for you." His hand slid to pick up the car keys that were laying on the counter. Jinx was definitely acting strange. It was nice that he was being caring but... it just didn't seem like him.

"Will you get some cereal?" I leaned up against the wall and moistened my dry lips. "Oh, and a toothbrush and some toothpaste?"

He nodded and turned to exit by the other door. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Bye," I said and pressed my full back to the wall and slid to the bottom so I was sitting on the cool floor.

I crossed my arms and placed them over my knees, thinking. There was only one thing to do right now.

Explore!

_Meowwwwwww. Oh also, what would you think if Alex appeared in the next chapter? Or should he stay on the sidelines?_


	16. Sixteen

You_ guys make my heart smile :] Feel free to tell me ideas you have for the story!_

_And it seems the consensus is that we don't want Alex? haha_

**Chapter Sixteen**

As the door shut behind him, I began to wonder where would be the best place to look around. I probably didn't have very long before he got back. I tapped my fingers on the floor as I thought and looked around from where I was. Outside the kitchen to one side was that long hallway and it split to go into the kitchen. What was past the kitchen? Just as I was about to force myself to get up and go that way, I heard a knob turn and then a door open up. Who could that be? Feet begin climbing forward and I jumped to my feet, forming a defensive crouch that probably wouldn't have done me much good anyway. Still it seemed there was never being too prepared around vampires, whatever Alex was, and the rest of existance.

Jinx strolled through the doorway, whistling. When his eyes fell on me, he stopped and gave me a quizzical glance.

"You almost gave me a heart attack! I thought there was someone else here," I explained as I stood up straight.

He smirked, picked up his wallet from the counter, and made toward me. "I just forgot this," he waved it in front of my face. "Wanna come with me so you don't have an actual heart attack if something does happen?" Obviously, Jinx didn't realize that he, himself, made my heart race into dangerously fast heart attack zones.

"Sure," I sighed and followed after him to the door to the garage. Exploring would have to wait. "I need shoes though."

He waved a hand in my direction. "There should be some in the closet there."

I turned to the entry way closet and sure enough there was a pair of boots inside. They were a little manly in style and a bit too big but they were better than nothing. Especially with how cold it felt outside. Whenever the Jinx opened the door, it was like a blast of air from the freezer.

His car sat on the driveway, headlights turned on bright in the dark of the night. For the first time, I noticed the snow crunching beneath my newly clothed feet. When I had been taken away from college it had been around the first of October. I sure had missed a lot of important holidays; Thanksgiving and Halloween at least. Had Christmas passed yet?

When Jinx headed for the passenger side, I gave him a humorous look. "Did you want me to drive this time?"

"I was going to open the door for you," he stopped and looked at me, "but thanks for reminding me, I gotta change the plates before we can drive this car again."

"Oh," I let him open the car's door for me before sliding in. Why did he have extra license plates? I situated myself in the seat and fastened the belt as Jinx went into the garage and opened a metal cabinet. He pulled out two white plates, and some tool. I opened the shade in front of me and flipped the mirror open. Running a hand through my greasy hair while he worked on getting the previous plates off, I parted it neatly on the side. As I pulled my hair forward from the back, my fingers ran across the spot where Jinx had taken my blood. It wasn't raised at all and I only knew it was there because of the mirror. Was that what it was like last time?

When Jinx was done, he placed the old plates and tool in the garage and closed it behind him. Once he shut the car door, he said. "We need to get gas before we stop at the store." The car came to life softly and after he shifted into gear, we pulled out of the driveway, leaving fresh tracks in the sparkling snow.

I leaned against the cool window as we drove down the path that hardly looked like it had been used. For once, I was glad it was not daylight. The sun reflecting off of the snow always made it too bright to see anything.

Once we reached the main road, streetlights lit our way. "Hey Jinx," I started to ask, not really sure how to phrase the question about how long it had been since that night in October without being accusatory.

"Hey Roxie," he responded, sparing a quick glance to me.

"What day is it?" I finally figured out a good way, the normal way.

He had to think before he told me. "Tonight is Saturday."

I rolled my eyes, "no, I mean is it the first or second or what?"

"Oh," he picked up a smart phone that I had not noticed before from the holder by the gear shifter and lit his phone up. The time read 6:34PM. Underneath in smaller letters, I scanned for the date but he beat me to it. Setting it down and looking back out at the road, he told me, "it's the 21st."

"Of?" Jinx had locked it before I had seen the month.

"December."

I leaned back in my seat and let out a breath of air. "Huh." I said to myself. "Christmas is in four days."

A gas station came up quickly and I studied Jinx's hands as he flicked the turn signal on and changed lanes. He turned much more smoothly than the last time I had been in the car with him and easily navigated to a gas pump. Watching Jinx, I prepared myself for a cold breeze when he opened his car door. I didn't prepare enough; a hoard of goosebumps took over me and sent a chill through my body. Thankfully, he closed the door behind him and went to pay inside.

As he walked into the store and up to the counter, my eyes followed him. What went on inside Jinx's head was a mystery to me but I sure would have liked to find out. His money transfer was hidden from view by me because of a large pile of firewood in front of the station. The two men exchanged some words and then Jinx nodded a farewell before pushing the door open to leave. His feet hit the outside ground just as a truck was pulling up. Passing by it at what seemed to be a purposefully slow pace, I watched him and the truck driver intently. I couldn't tell if Jinx was being annoying or if he was just not paying attention to the driver.

Jinx eventually got closer to his destination and enough room was made to allow the annoyed looking truck driver to pass by him. He made his way to the pump and opening the gas cap in the car, he slid the nozzle into it and began to feed gas to his hungry car. With gas now pouring into the tank, Jinx opened the door and slid in. His cheeks were tinged a warm color and his exhale into the car released a white fog.

"Is the world prettier when you walk slower?" I tried to taunt him.

Jinx didn't seem to get my joke and if he did, he didn't show it. "I suppose... why?"

I shook my head slightly just as the pump stopped giving the car gas. He got up and out again to detach us from the pump. Picking it up with his hand, he hooked it back onto the holder and pressed a button with his other hand.

Glancing over a receipt, he fumbled for the keys blindly and started the car. Purring low, it came to life and warm air began to blow onto my face once more. I leaned forward, putting my face closer to the vent.

The drive to the next and last stop took at least ten minutes. If not for the streak of red lights that we hit, it could have taken six minutes. Luckily, he didn't feel the need to run any lights or stop signs, or if he did, he didn't act on the impulse. It was quiet in the car except for the radio playing softly in the background. A particular song began to play and I was brought out from my dreaming world by his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. I bit a smile down and leaned back against the cold window.

The store popped up from no where and before I knew it, we were parked and Jinx was taking the keys out of the car. "Ready?" Jinx asked as he unbuckled himself from his seat and picked up his phone and wallet from the console.

I nodded, clicked the release on my belt, and got out of the car. Slamming shut with more force than I intended, the door closed behind me and joining Jinx at the end of the car, we walked to the store doors together. The air seemed to have gotten colder and I felt my cheeks turn a pink tinge. I blew warm air on my hands but it wasn't enough. Jinx looked down at me, and seeming to notice how cold I was, wrapped an arm around me.

In shock, I almost stopped walking. His arm didn't make me much warmer but the gesture surprised me greatly. Since when did Jinx care about other people? He was behaving suspiciously.

"Forgot your jacket?" He questioned as we moved off the road and onto the sidewalk in front of the store.

Making a face, I reminded him. "I don't have a jacket."

"Do we need to get you one?"

"If I'm going to be outside." As if he would let me go outside without him.

He nodded and retracted his arm from my body as we walked through the sliding doors. A warm burst of air hit our faces and I felt a shiver go through me as if the cold was leaving my body. He grabbed a cart from one of the lines. "What do you need?"

"Lots of things," I told him. "Let's just get things are we see them." With that suggestion, I placed a hand on the other end of the cart and guided Jinx to the make up section in the front of the store.

"Make up?" He groaned.

I spared a glance for him. "There's more than just make up in this section you know."

"Like what?"

I blushed as I bent down to pick out the right shade of foundation, "feminine products." He tapped his fingers on the cart, clearly not able to be patient. I stood up with two shades. "What color?" I held the two up next to my face.

Jinx examined each with narrowed eyes and then pointed to the one of the right. Setting it in the cart, I grabbed an eyeliner and mascara to go with it. A few more things from that area found their way into the cart and then Jinx was itching to leave that section.

"What food do you like?"

I was tempted to make a comment about how he would know if he had not locked me out of his life for about a month and a half. The fact that it might anger him made me go with a regular answer instead, "pasta." I didn't want to push my luck with his happy streak.

He pushed the cart forward, and I fell into line next to him. We rolled in silence to an aisle filled with the green pasta boxes and flavouring packets. I meandered down the aisle until I found the bow tie noodles that I loved and the normal spaghetti noodles. I saw Jinx pick up the things for the sauce as I continued on to the end. There were more boxes of shaped macaroni that were absolutely delicious looking. I didn't know how long we would be staying at the cabin so I decided to be safe and picked up several boxes of the yummy food. It could be for just that night or maybe for a while. I hadn't even been at the cabin long and I already liked it more than the mansion.

"Do you got enough there?" Jinx questioned with amused eyes when I dropped the boxes into the cart.

I bit my lip with a small smile and responded half sarcastically, "nope."

The rest of the shopping went by smoothly until it came to snacks. I slyly made my way in front of the cart and got up to the cookie section. When I had picked out ice cream for myself, he had made a face and asked if I really needed sweets like that. So I assumed it was the same way with cookies and he would probably make me choose cookies or ice cream if he found out. That would be impossible.

Quickly picking out my favourite kind, I pranced over to cart and when he wasn't looking, I set it in the bottom as quietly as I could. Just as I was removing my hand from the package he turned his head back and saw me.

As guilty as a little child, I asked in an innocent voice, "what?"

"What'd you get?"

"Nothing," I rocked forward on my tip toes and walked around the cart to him. "Are you ready to go?"

He leaned forward and peeked through the other items until he saw when I had just put in. "You got cookies?" He jestingly accused me.

I raised my hands in surrender, "I'm sorry, I just needed something sweet in my life!"

"Well why didn't you say so earlier?" Jinx raised his eyebrows and wrapping his muscular arms around me, pulled me close. I could feel his pelvis against my stomach and with wide eyes and my lips parted I stared up at him. His eyes twinkled in response and his lids seemed to grow heavy as he stared back down at me. There was definitely something different about him and his approaches. For a moment, I could have sworn that he was going to kiss me.

Blushing violently at the thought, I instinctively pulled away from him. In a shaky voice, I told him again. "Let's go check out, I'm getting hungry."

"Do you want to get a movie to watch?"

It was hard to imagine Jinx watching a movie, nonetheless, _wanting _to watch a movie. "Rent one or buy one?" I turned around the face him; I had already begun walking down the aisle toward the cashiers' checkouts.

"Either way," he told me. "I think there's a machine to rent one from by the door."

I nodded and started to walk again. The cart rolled after me and soon we were in line to buy. The messy haired woman ahead of us was just paying when Jinx started to put things on the belt.

"How are you tonight?" The cashier asked routinely, as she gave the woman in front of us her change and started to scan our items.

"Good," I replied for Jinx when he did not respond. I turned back to continue putting more stuff on the belt when I saw his slightly pink face. Moving my eyes to his hands, I saw a box of my 'feminine products' in his hands and I had to stop myself from laughing. "Never seen a box of-" I started to question.

He cleared his throat and cut me off. "Of course I have." With that, he forcefully put it on the conveyor Giggling, I almost dropped the jug of milk that I had just grabbed. "Shut up," he told me.

"Yes, master." I rolled my eyes, forgetting that his title actually was Master Jinx. When the realization came to me, I avoided his face, too nervous to see his reaction.

I picked up several of the last items in the cart and placed them on the belt. When I went down to pick up anything left, my hands wandered to a bottle of lotion. "What's this for?" I waved it in front of Jinx's face curiously.

"My back."

"Oh," I replied and placed it on the belt. I was about to ask if he was feeling like a woman but I was cut off as he pushed the cart forward, moving me toward the end.

The cashier told him the amount, which was shockingly high, and Jinx whipped out a dark card from the wallet he had almost forgotten. He slid it in the thing and then signed for the money amount. While he was paying, I placed the heavy bags in the cart until it was overflowing. There was one bag left that would not fit now matter how I placed it, so I took it in hand.

"Movie?"

He nodded and pointed me in the right direction. I marched over in that direction and stopped before the machine. It prompted me and I touched the screen. A whole selection of movies popped up in front of our eyes. Swiping through them, I scanned for anything that stood out before going back to the start. "Do you care which one?"

"Anything is fine except for a sappy love movie."

"Well let's get that exactly then!" I smiled at him and then turned back to the machine's screen. Scrolling through again, I went slower, so we could read the titles.

"How about that one?" Jinx said. His hand moved to the screen and he tapped it gently with his pointer finger.

I swiveled my head to give him a face, "that looks scary."

"I'll keep you safe," he grinned, purposely flashing his sharp fangs.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I turned back to the screen, "Fine."

A screen to pay came up and Jinx slid his card for it. The payment went through and a few seconds later, the movie slid out in a small case for us to grab. I took it out from the slot and stuck it in the grocery bag hanging from my arm.

Jinx started to move away and go toward the door to leave. Remembering how cold it was outside, I shuffled up next to him and grabbed his arm bravely. For a second he looked at me, confused. "It's cold, remember?" I explained to him.

With new found memory, he nodded and wrapped the arm around me. Any other guy probably would have offered me their coat but I knew Jinx was not that man. If I was a man and the girl I was with was cold, I would probably be pretty reluctant to give her my coat, too. I sighed and moved my head along with my rolling eyes, forgetting I was right next to his body. In result, my head leaned deeper into Jinx's arm, probably seeming like a sign of affection to him when I really didn't mean it that way.

However, I was not able to see his face and he gave no reply to show that he had noticed a difference so I wasn't sure how he took it.


	17. Seventeen

_Surprise! This was a comparatively quick update, eh?_

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><p>Lovepaw: Thanks for the input bro, maybe Roxie doesn't want to see Alex again either because of what she's heard from Naomi &amp; Co?<p>

Jersey-Shore: Are you sure Alex is a good guy? ;)

AlexandraSterling41: Does this count as soon? Glad you're catching my drift on the falling for each other thing :)

Carol: Turkey intriguing? I hope you don't mean turkey like they do in movie review books where it's a bad thing! ;) Well, they say love is blind. Maybe she's come to accept it, or it might be more likely that she just doesn't want to think about it! Who knows...

EgyptionParakeet: Thanks :) Let's hope this cottage isn't like The Cabin in the Woods! haha

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><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen<strong>

As we pulled into the driveway, I saw a random suitcase illuminated by the car's headlights on the front step by the door. "What's that?"

"I assume that is the bag Naomi packed for you," he said nonchalantly. "I asked her to bring some stuff over for you." Already knowing what kind of things Naomi would have liked to pack inside, I sighed and shook my head to myself. Hopefully, she had restrained herself a little from too many skimpy outfits.

Jinx's pointer finger pushed a button on the roof of his car and the garage door opened with a start. "I'm sure you would like to change into clean clothes; go get your suitcase and do whatever you need to do."

"Is there a shower I can use?"

"In the bathroom by the kitchen." He informed me. "There should be clean shower towels in the closet of the room you slept in yesterday."

I nodded, and stepped of the car before he pulled into the garage. With one of the grocery bags still in hand, I shut the car door behind me and made my way to the front door. Stomping in the snow, the loose boots made me lift my feet higher. Goosebumps appeared on my skin instantly and with my hands growing cold, I picked up the suitcase by its handle and hurried back over the garage. Shivering, I ran inside and stomped the snow off the too big shoes. I slipped them off and moved father on into the cabin.

In the kitchen I dropped the bag from the store and the movie on one of the counters. Placing the suitcase on the ground, I extended the long handle on the other side of it and began to roll it along the floor. Coming to the hallway, I frowned and looked both ways before deciding on one. A few doors down, I saw a mirror and peeked into the room quickly to make sure it was indeed the bathroom I thought it was. Continuing on, the suitcase's wheels squeaked as I dragged it down the hallway to the bedroom.

I nudged the door open with my shoulder and rolled the suitcase up next to the bed. Then I backtracked to the door and gently closed it again, pushing it with my hips. I didn't want any unexpected visitors while changing, that was for sure.

Stripping myself of the slightly dirty and wrinkled clothing I had on, I stretched my body wide and extended my arms until I felt my shoulders crack. With my hand, I cracked my neck both ways. The pops gave me relief for something I had not even realized that I needed. Shaking myself off, I loosened my muscles. In the closet, I found a stack of clean towels and I grabbed one off the top of the pile. Soft fabric wrapped around my body and it was nicer than any towel I had ever had before at college or ever at home.

Would it be too scandalous if I walked to and from the bathroom in just a towel? I pursed my lips, thinking about it. Jinx was probably still bring groceries in, so what were the chances of him seeing me? Feeling brave, I held the towel up around my body in a clenched hand and slowly turned the door knob with my other. My bare feet padded down the hallway to the bathroom and just as I was about to disrobe and shower, I remembered the shampoo and other things I had gotten were in bags that Jinx was supposed to bring it from the car. If I remember correctly, they were probably close to the first ones being brought inside so I could sneak in and take it while Jinx was outside bringing more in.

Hesitantly, I tip toed to the closest kitchen entry way and peeked inside. The door from the garage opened up and Jinx carried a load of things in. Drawing my head back so he would not see me, I waited for him to open the garage door again. As soon as he was out, I slipped into the kitchen and searched for the right bag.

The first one I rifled through had our cereals, and the next one had water bottles. As I was going through the fifth bag, I heard the door open behind me and I stood up straight instantly. With wide eyes, I faced the door and Jinx. "Do you have the bag with the shower stuff in it?"

I could feel his eyes raking my body and I looked away uncomfortably. "Yeah, it's right here." He held up one of the bags he had in hand.

With my one free hand, I reached out for it. "Thanks," I said as I just about had it.

Jinx pulled his hand back at the last second and it fell from my grasp. "I bought all this stuff for you, I think it's only fair if you give me something in return." He joked, wriggling his eyebrows.

"Mmm..." I pretended to think about it. "No." I put my hand out for the bag.

He handed it to me and his eyes glinted, "I was hoping for a little bit of action."

"No, sir." I replied and began to pad off to the bathroom, bag in hand. The other plastic bags clunked against each other as he set them on the counter. As I was about to turn the corner to go to the bathroom, I let out a squeak in shock. His arms had slipped through mine and wrapped around my body. "Hi, Jinx." I said, feeling a bit awkward, not sure what he was going to do. Trying to turn around so I could push him off, I found that his arms had wrapped me too tightly for any movement.

"Hey," he murmured into my ear. A little rush went through my body at the sound of his lowered voice.

Fidgeting in his grasp, I said. "I gotta take a shower now Jinx." When he still didn't do anything, I added on, "my hair's all greasy and I smell like body odor, now let me go." He loosened his death grip on me and I wiggled out of it.

With a sigh of relief, I got into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. Making sure to lock it first, I let my towel drop to the ground and I set the bag on the counter. Going through it, I took out my new hair brush and brushed the snarls out of my hair. Yanking through the worst ones, I winced at the sporadic sharp pains on my scalp. After I was done with that mess, I took the shampoo and conditioner bottles along the new razor out of the bag and set them inside the shower.

My hand sneaked inside and turned the shower water on. It automatically sprayed from the head and soon enough, a steam began to fill the room. I breathed in deeply again, making myself realize that I was here voluntarily now. I didn't have to be or pretend to be resentful toward Jinx now. Voluntarily, I thought again to myself.

Stepping a foot into the shower, I recoiled sharply from the stinging hot water. The thick steam was already beginning to rise to the ceiling and fog the mirror. The hot water pelted down and I slyly moved the knob without being hit by water so that it would grow to a more comfortable temperature. Testing it with my hand once I had cooled it down a bit, I waited until I got it to a nice, warm, acceptable temperature. Once I was satisfied with it, I moved my whole body inside and let myself relax under the streams of water.

The water pelted down to massage my back and I let my thoughts drift. My dark hair grew heavier as it soaked up the water and I could feel my muscles release their tensed positions. I was so absorbed in my own thing that didn't even hear the first knock on the door. When it pounded again, I called. "What?"

"Save some hot water for me," he replied back through the door.

"No!" I exclaimed, on kind of joking. I wanted to relax in the shower as long as possible, or at least until I turned into a prune.

"Then I suppose I'll have to shower with you," he called suggestively through the door.

"Not happening," I responded sternly. "That's why I locked the door."

"Do you think a simple lock is going to stand in my way?" Jinx questioned, and I couldn't tell whether he was thinking about breaking in or just toying with me.

Just in case, I popped the shampoo open and squirted it onto my hand, stopping the relaxation I had going on. Scrubbing it into my roots, I created a mass of white bubbles that fizzed over my scalp. "Probably not." When I was done lathering my hair up, I ducked under the water again and quickly rinsed out all of the suds. My fingertips massaged my scalp deeply, making sure to get every last spot.

"I suppose you don't want me to attempt?"

"Not really," I said blandly and began to condition my hair. Running my fingers through the bottom of my hair, I pulled through it smoothly, spreading the silky conditioner to all the dark strands.

Jinx made a guttural noise in acknowledgment and rapped the door with his knuckles before walking away. I was left to finish washing myself. Letting the water run through my hair, I rinsed the conditioner out and combed my fingers through my long black hair.

The rest of my shower was uneventful; I didn't even cut my legs while shaving for once. When I was finished cleaning myself and when there was probably some hot water left in the pipes still, I turned the water off and wrung my hair out. Tiny droplets joined their larger counterparts in the fall to the white floor and slid down to the drain, where they would be carried away. Squeezing tightly, I suffocated my hair of water as well as I could before releasing it. It swung to my back in a ripple and shifted as I stepped out.

I picked up my towel and dried my body off with it. Bringing it up to my head, I attempted to dry off my hair one last time before wrapping the soft towel all the way around my body. Just as I was about to leave, I stopped at the fogged up mirror. My eyes narrowed and I examined it before bring my pointer finger up to its surface. I brought my finger to the right and then diagonally upwards and downwards before going right once more and then back diagonally and down and up and down and up and the left to form a perfect star. I was about to leave once more when I decided that maybe Jinx wouldn't like me to draw on his mirror and so I grabbed a hand towel and wiped off the front face of the mirror.

Staring at myself, I tilted my neck and saw no mark from where I had been bitten earlier. I clenched my towel a bit tighter around me and unlocked the door. Twisting the knob, I swung it open and glanced both ways in the hallway before darting out. Padding quickly, I passed one of the kitchen entries and saw Jinx standing at the counter. He must have heard me coming and looked up to see me go by because he whistled.

"Shut up, Jinx." I replied with a pink tinted face and hurried a little quicker to the bedroom, clutching the towel even tighter to my chest. Closing the door behind me, I locked it just in case Jinx decided to try to visit.

Oh boy, I had gotten myself into a mess by saying I actually didn't want to go back home. I shook my head, "stop thinking about it, Roxanne." I sternly thought aloud to myself. I started to lean back into the door but then I pulled myself back up and fell upon the soft bed instead. Sighing, I looked up at the ceiling and kicked my legs that were hanging over the side of the bed.

I laid there for quite a while until I found the motivation to sit back up and dress myself. I bit my lower lip and stared at the suitcase, scared to find what was hidden inside its big, black, bulky body. Reaching down with an arm, I grasped the thick handle.

Swinging the suitcase up onto the bed, I unzipped it open. "Guess I was right to be worried after all." I groaned. Naomi had packed a few too many layers of lingerie for me on top of everything else. She knew I didn't want to do anything like that with Jinx. I glanced downwards at the panties and bras and whatever else was in that mix that I didn't know the names of. Was that true though? The night before when I had tried to get down with him kind of contradicted that.

I grabbed the stack of lingerie and threw it on the other side of bed. I didn't have to think about that right now. Underneath revealed some more acceptable clothing options. Dressing in the clothes on the top of the suitcase's current pile, I clothed myself in a tight olive green turtle neck sweater and a pair of dark jeggings. Naomi had even given me a cute, fuzzy pair of socks I could wear, too. Slipping them on, I smiled at the reindeer faces they had on them.

I grabbed a brush that she had tucked into the suitcase and began to go through my hair. Yanking through the snarls once more, I made a face at the slight pain. When it was finally snarl free, I parted it and threw the brush onto the bed.

Making my way to the kitchen, I left the door open behind me to rid the room of the stale stench it had been accommodating from a long while of disuse. As I walked in, I saw that Jinx had left. My stomach growled with hunger and so I opened the fridge. Pulling out a jug of milk, I set it on the shiny granite counter top. The cereals were still out on the counter and after looking through almost all the cabinets and drawers, I was able to collect a spoon and a bowl.

Placing them on the counter next to the milk, I opened a box of cereal. There was a plastic bag inside that I picked up and neatly began to open the end of. Complying for me, the bag opened nicely and I was able to pour it out into my glass bowl without making a mess. The cereal tumbled into the bowl and skidded around the spoon. I put them to death by my milk, drowning them, and then put the jug away before sitting down on one of the bar stools.

Christmas was in four days. Four days wasn't a very long time, was it? I gathered cereal on my spoon and brought it to my mouth. My mouth closed around the spoon and stripped it of its luggage. Crunching the food in my mouth, I didn't realize that I was chewing loudly until Jinx said something as he walked into the kitchen.

He was drinking from a dark red pouch that looked like the ones that held juice but for some reason I strongly doubted it was juice. "Could you chew that cereal a little louder? I don't think the people next door can hear you."

I swallowed and replied, "at least say please."

Jinx raised his eyebrows at me and leaned back against the other counter.

"Oh I'm sorry, you're Jinx the Great, since when do you have to say please?" I smiled and took another spoonful of cereal, making sure to chomp on it as loud as I could.

"Since never," he smirked in response, like it was an obvious fact of life.

I shook my currently empty spoon at him. "Well mister, I'm going to have to teach you some manners."

"I'm afraid it's too late for me. I suppose you'll have to mourn the loss of an almost fabulous student." Jinx feigned sorrow; he brought one of his hands up to his forehead and held it there limply while making a pained face.

Giggling at him, I shook my head. "I realized your head was big, just not that big."

He shrugged, continuing to play along with me. "It's so big they have to make special hats just for me."

"I bet that makes you feel special." I joked flatly and worked on consuming my cereal. Scooping up the few pieces that were left, I clinked the sides of the bowl with the metal.

"Very," he sighed, seeming bored of our conversation already.

There was silence between us while I finished off the food before me. When just milk was sitting there, I asked. "Are there neighbors here?"

"What?" He must have been thinking to himself.

"I asked there were actually neighbors around here. You said something about them when you were making fun of my loud chewing habits." I bit my lower lip and stood up from the stool to take my dish to the sink and rinse it out. The stool slid backward, giving way to me.

"Not very close ones," he said.

"Are you speaking in terms of distance or relationship?" I laughed, not sure what he meant. Dumping the milk out of my bowl, I turned the faucet on and swished a bit of water in the bowl.

Jinx commented, "both."

"That's the easy way out." I crossed my arms, and faced him with slightly narrowed eyes. Cocking my hips, I leaned against the counter too.

He frowned. "Is that bad?"

"Depends on the situation."

"Doesn't everything depend on the situation?"

I scanned my brain for things, not willing to lose the non existent argument. When at last I had one, I blurted it out. "Killing someone is wrong no matter what."

"Is it?" Jinx drew himself up from the counter and stood tall.

My eyes winced, and I questioned, "yes?"

"So people shouldn't kill each other in war?" He tested.

"Well, I mean, war is a bad thing and in war you kill people, so..." I trailed off.

"How about in self defense? Should they submit and let the person do whatever they came for?"

"No," I squirmed, trying to think of another example. Why was I so bad at thinking when I was put on the spot? For heaven's sake, if he asked me what 1+1 was right now I'd probably get that wrong.

He wriggled his eyebrows. "See Roxie? I'm always right." Winking, he crossed the kitchen floor and took a seat on one of the stools.

I glared at him. "Don't make it harder for yourself to find a hat to wear."

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><p>I'm gonna try to update every other Friday so we'll see how that goesssssss<p>

Maybe it'll be every Friday. I don't know yet bros :)


	18. Eighteen

(_excuse_)

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><p>Lovepaw: The last chapter was kind of bland, my apologies for raising your hopes for something somewhat entertaining and letting you down ;)<p>

AlexandraSterling41: Yay, I'm glad you like my plan :) 0% success so far though, oopsies

Carol: I figured as much but I wanted to have some fun with your words anyway, hehe

Luna: I'll work on that :) Thanks for the input with Roxanne ^^ I hope you do! Your reviews are very appreciated!

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><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen<strong>

Bzzz. Bzzz.

I perked my head up at the vibrations, it seemed that Jinx was getting a text from someone. His phone lit up and shook on the light wooden coffee table beneath my resting feet.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

Apparently it wasn't a text; someone was trying to call him.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

I glanced around, where was he? "Jinx!" I hollered to get his attention.

He padded into the room quietly, "hm?"

Bzzz. Bzzz.

Pointing to his phone that was shaking itself to the edge of the table next to my bare feet, I went back to reading the book. His large hard swiped the table, picking up his phone and pressing the answer prompt.

"Hey," he greeted in a low voice. Sparing a glance, I looked up at him and then back down at my book.

There was a muffled greeting on the other that I tried to decipher without success. Jinx began to speak again. "No, no. This is a fine time... Yes, I'm sure." Moving to a comfortable chair, he slid into it and leaned in the back of it before placing his feet on the coffee table as well. The words of the book on my lap no longer seemed to appeal to me, Jinx's conversation with the mystery person intrigued me too much for me to comprehend the story anymore. He held the black smart phone close to his right ear, the one closer to me, and I heard the muted voice on the other side say something. "I see," he spoke once more. "That will work."

Speaking of phones, Jinx must have found my phone and wallet in his closet after we had that fight and I went to Naomi. I probably would have burned his phone and wallet if I had found them but I doubted he had actually done that my belongings. I suppose it didn't really matter anymore, after all, it was most likely that I was declared a dead or missing person and if I suddenly showed up somewhere using the cards and identification in my wallet, I would have to explain everything. What a mess that would be. If Jinx ever got involved in that, he would make me tell them that I had been given the chance to go back and I had then decided that no, I actually didn't want to return home. How mad that would make my mother! My mother and whoever she was currently sleeping with, probably that nasty coworker that had been spending that night when Jinx was about to bring me back. Mentally, I slapped myself. I shouldn't think things like that about my mother. Not only that, she was an adult, she could do whatever she wanted to.

"Rox?" A face was a couple of feet away from mine.

I jumped back, startled by the sudden appearance. "Weren't you just on the phone?"

He nodded and walked me through the order of events, "and then I got off the phone and you were staring off into space."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "I was thinking."

"About what?" Jinx's head tilted curiously and I found it hard to take even breaths.

"A lot of things."

"You're not going to tell me?" He pouted, acting hurt.

"I have to have some secrets from you," I smiled.

A smile grew on his face, too. "Then I can't tell you where we're going."

"What? Since when are we going somewhere?"

Jinx stood from his kneeling position. "Since right now."

"You have to give me some forewarning for events like this." I frowned, staring up at him. "I have to get ready to go out."

He held a hand out to help me up. Grabbing onto his hand, he pulled me upwards. "Then you better go get dressed." His hand lingered on mine for several seconds and he slowly withdrew it, his fingers tip softly grazing over my skin. A shiver went through my body at the light touch.

Passing by him, I scouted out of the four season porch and headed to my room. Going through the suitcase, I grabbed a cute top and a pair of pants. I put them over my arm and then grabbed my makeup before going to the bathroom to get ready.

Jinx saw me as I was walking to the bathroom and he looked at my clothing. "You're going to want something fancier than a shirt and pants."

"A skirt?" I questioned, walking into the bathroom, or at least setting the makeup down. The mascara dropped with a clatter to the ground and rolled to the side of the room as I was placing everything else on the counter top.

"More like a dress."

He followed me to the door jam and leaned against it, eying me as I bent over to pick up the mascara. "Keep your eyes to yourself," I joked as I saw him still looking at me when I stood up straight.

He groaned, and I think he was jesting. "but that's so hard to do."

I rolled my eyes, "sucks for you." I walked past him, back to my room to find a something dressier to wear. There were two dresses I had seen that Naomi had somehow found room to pack for in the suitcase. "If you want to help me, you can choose what dress I should wear since you're not telling me where we're going."

He entered the room a few seconds after I did and sat on the bed. "I'd also be okay if you didn't wear anything at all."

"I gave you that options a few nights ago and you didn't take advantage of it."

"Do you want me to apologize for being a gentleman?"

I gave him a look and held up the two dresses. "Which one?"

He extended a hand and I came closer to him so he could feel the dresses. After running his hand over both of them, he tugged on the one in my right hand. "Wear this one."

I put the other one down and accused him, "you just want to see more of my skin."

He smirked. "I didn't realize that was a bad thing."

"You better go get dressed," I told him and began to back out of the bedroom, watching him. Turning around as I crossed the doorway, I heard him get up to dress himself, too.

In the bathroom, I quickly shed my clothing and shimmied into the tight maroon dress. Staring at myself in the mirror, I saw that I had lost some of my stomach fat that I had gained in college. Turning to the side, I smiled at how it hugged my curves. I ran a hand over the smooth but sturdy fabric, brushing out a few wrinkles in the dress.

After admiring my body for maybe a little too long, I opened my new makeup and began applying it. Spreading the foundation evenly, I made sure to cover a not yet raised red spot that was forming on my chin and the slightly dark area underneath my eyes. When I was finished with my skin care, I drew my eyeliner on with some difficulty, having not used it much in college except when I went out, which wasn't too often. I gave it a sharp point on the ends but decided to not do too much. Better to have a little less on than too much.

"Rox!" Jinx called, knocking on the bathroom door. "Are you almost ready?"

I turned the knob and cracked open the door for him. "Yeah, I just got to finish my mascara." Staring into the mirror with my mouth slightly open, I twirled the stick into my eyelashes, making them darker and fuller. Then twisting the mascara closed, I turned to him. "I'm ready."

"You're not supposed to be that hot." His voice sounded strained and his eyes flickered with a snap of a glow.

I wasn't sure whether to be complimented or scared of what his vampire nature might do so I just retorted. "Give me an ugly sweater then."

"We need to match somewhat and I only have one." Jinx winked at me. He had gained control over his voice again and for once I stared at what he was wearing. Apparently, he could take care of some things. A nicely pressed black suit adorned his body and he was wearing a dark red tie to match my dress.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he scouted me out of the bathroom and to the garage door.

"I told you, it's a secret."

"Will there be humans?" He handed me a seemingly new coat from the closet and I looked it over. Had he gotten it or was it one that Naomi had dropped off along with my suitcase? I slipped one arm into it and then he held up the other end of the coat and helped my slid into the other arm.

Jinx began to wrap himself up in his own jacket. "Yes."

"Will there be vampires?"

"Besides me?"

"Well, obviously." I stared at him.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"I can't give away too much."

I frowned and then remembered an important attribute to my outfit. "Oh, I need shoes!"

"You tend to forget those, don't you?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and twirled away. "Shut up."

"I'll be waiting outside with the car."

Racing back to my room, I quickly dug through my things until I found the pair of heels that Naomi had given me in the suitcase. I sat down on the soft bed, trying to put the black heels on without ripping my dress up one of the seams. Finally, I was able to position my leg in such a way that I could reach my foot and not break my leg. Bending over awkwardly, I placed my foot in the heel and notched the buckle until it was tight enough. As soon as I was done with the other foot too, I stood up to practice walking in them.

Almost falling as I rose and took the first step, I did a wild man dance in the air until I was able to regain my balance. This would totally be a piece of cake, not. Maybe my lack of ability to walk in my shoes would be an excuse to hold onto Jinx?

Filling my lungs with a deep breath, I walked over to the garage door with my arms widespread like an eagle. "Just walk like I'm walking on a tight rope." I told myself. I gripped the door with my hand, twisted the knob, and slowly made my way down the couple of steps to the cool garage floor. A blast of wind hit my ankles, causing my legs to shiver. With my arms stretched out wide once more, I leaned to the door and pulled it shut before making my way to the car and getting in. Pulling the seat belt across my body with cold hands, Jinx shifted the car into reverse.

"Having some difficulties there?" Jinx laughed as he pulled down the driveway. While he looked out the back window, his fingers searched for the button to bring the great door down. On key, the door began to gradually let itself down until it finally hit the snowy driveway and stopped.

"You try walking in heels," I retorted and crossed my uncovered arms. Leaning back into the seat, my legs readjusted themselves.

"Is that jacket not thick enough to keep you warm?" He frowned, glancing over at the curled up pose I was making. Taking his right hand off the wheel, he adjusted the fan so it was on full blow and then twisted the heat up all the way.

I was hit by a desert blast that seemed to come from the Sahara. All I needed now was a water jug and the sun bronzing my skin. "I don't suppose you have a tanning bed in here, too. Do you?"

Jinx gave me a frown, not understanding my humor. "Have the subzero temps gotten to your head?"

"I was making a joke," sighing, I looked out the window to watch the white covered pine trees whip by as we sped onward. "Sorry I'm bad at being funny."

"I think you're funny," he argued without much conviction.

"That's because I'm a tiny, little twig of a human compared to your big, macho vampire self."

His head turned to look at me as we came to a halt at a red light. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We don't have a very fair playing ground."

"Is that an invitation to change you?" Jinx raised his eyebrows enticingly and pressed down on the gas as our light changed.

"You would change me?"

"Well, yeah," he said uncomfortably. "It may be rare but it happens."

"How did you come to be a vampire?"

He was quiet for a long while and all I heard was the revving of the engine and the blow of air coming at us. "I was born into a family that favored the vampiric lifestyle over a human one."

"Intense," I commented. Was this really the first time he was telling me something personal about himself?

"Tell me about it." Jinx's tone was dry and distasteful.

"So you have no idea what it's like to be a human?"

"Nothing that I can remember." He shrugged nonchalantly, not very off put by it.

"Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to grow up human?"

"I've been informed on the day to day basics of a human lifestyle." His left hand brushed down on the blinker, switching to the left turn lane. "I prefer my lifestyle to those of normal human beings, though."

I questioned him. "How does the changing process work?"

"First, you need to understand that vampires really aren't a different species. We're just a mutation."

"Mutation?"

"Rather, a disease with no known cure as of yet."

"What do you mean?" I squinted my eyes at him and turned my body in the seat so I was more angled toward him.

"You made a comment previous that you heard my heart beat, and I'm led to believe that you have been taught that vampires are dead." He started to explain and continued on when I nodded. "There's a venom that's injected into your bloodstream."

My eyes were wide as I implored him. "How?"

"I need to keep some secrets," he winked. "Once that happens, some things happen and your heart begins to slow down, until it's hardly beating at all. Just enough to give some circulation."

"You're really not going to tell me?" I pouted.

"You're lucky I'm telling you about it at all."

"You can trust me." I grinned, "who on earth am I going to tell?"

"Bribe me if you're so interested." He momentarily feathered the brake and then made a right turn onto an expressway.

"I'll give you a peck on the cheek," I grinned and then pursed my lips, about to lean toward him.

He shook his head. "What kind of bribe is that?"

"An excellent one," I defended, pulling back into my seat.

"Do I need to teach you how to bribe someone?"

"Yes, Jinx. Please teach me the bribing ways." I rolled my eyes at his ridiculousness.

"Well, for starters, you're supposed to offer me something more enticing. Money is a a common one."

"I know _that_."

"Do you now?"

"I do." I affirmed.

"Money won't do it for you right now, though."

"Oh it won't?" I smiled, "that's good because I don't have any."

"You were getting on the right track with the kiss on the check."

"Would you prefer a kiss on the lips?" I raised my eyebrow, playing along with him.

"That's not a proper bribe. I can do that to you whenever I want."

"Oh, you can, can you?" My eyebrows continued to rise. Was he trying to give my forehead wrinkles?

"I would prove it to you now but I'm afraid this is a rather inconvenient time." He glanced over at me and then back to the road once more when snow was beginning to fall slowly once more.

"I see." I was unimpressed.

"You don't believe me?"

"I never said that."

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing," I shook my hand in the air. "Get back to your bribe thing."

"As I was saying, you can do better than a simple kiss."

"I'll hold your hand."

"We can do that now." He gave me a look.

"Exactly," I smiled.

"No."

"Would you like a hug instead?"

"No."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were still in the 'no' stage of child development. Why don't you tell me what you would like to settle for?"

"A back rub," he grinned mischievously.

"A back rub?" I questioned, digging into my eyes with my eyebrows.

"With lotion," he added.

"With lotion?" I repeated.

"With lotion."

"I don't understand."

"My back is dry."

"Oh."

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><p>Guess where Jinx is taking her :)<p> 


	19. Nineteen

Perhaps an update every three weeks is a bit more realistic, haha ;) I've probably just jinxed myself now, so it'll be like eternity and one day until I put up another chapter. Let's hope I don't leave this one on a cliffhangerrr! :)

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><p>Luna: Yaw bro, banter is very fun! I love the advice you're giving me and critique would be very appreciated!<p>

Guest: Forever scares me bro, don't say that word :(

cattie13: Mmmm maybe c;

Lovepaw: Try again! :)

AlexandraSterling41: Don't worry, you're not alone; you're not the only one who doesn't know where she's going!

Dire Heart: You were the only one to guess it right! Winnerrrr :)

kaylagenn: Oh I love being good! ;D

babycakes24th: I'm sorry I made you do something you said you couldn't ;)

Carol: Thanks so much, that means a lot! :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen<strong>

The incessant silence was robbing me of my patience. My fingers flicked the volume dial, turning the radio on to break the endless droning of the car speeding along the highway.

Jinx turned his head to me and with a facade of remorse, he questioned. "Am I boring you?"

Tilting my face slightly in his direction, I shook my head. "I can't stand the combination of our silence and the waiting to see where you're taking me so mysteriously." My fingers played with the cloth of my dress, creating and flattening out creases in the wrinkle resistant fabric.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." He assured me and just like that, he signaled and merged onto an exit ramp.

Fidgeting, I shuffled my feet on the somewhat damp floor mat and looked out of the window into the dark of the evening or night or whatever time of day it was. There were a few strategically placed trees along the streets that Jinx had turned onto and bright Christmas lights lit them up. Their snow tipped branches waved hello in the wind as we passed by. Slender lampposts lined the paved streets and the slow snow that had started when we left was softly drifting down and settling gently upon the trees and surroundings.

The nocturnal vampire schedule was still a bit tricky for me, especially when the night was getting even longer than the day. Whatever time of day it was, I hoped where ever Jinx was taking me to had some form of food. The figurative gauge of my stomach was tilting towards empty and it needed refueling if I was going to be any sort of good company, which was what I assumed Jinx would appreciate.

"We're here," Jinx's voice broke through my thoughts and I saw we were sitting under an intricately carved archway of a very lit structure. Statues of what looked to be Greek or Roman gods stood in niches of the walls of the stone arch that led to the inside. A man was standing outside my closed car door and as I unbuckled the belt from around my waist, he pulled the door open for me and apparently also for a breeze of cold wind that blew past me now that I was without a barrier to protect me. Suppressing a shiver at the new frigid air, I swung my mostly bare legs out of the car. Stretching them so they reached the sidewalk, I pushed myself out of the car and I saw Jinx walking around to join me.

"Where exactly are we?"

"It's just a restaurant that I happen to like for special occasions." He told me as he placed his arm around me and brought me forward on the carpet to the grand front entrance.

"Special occasion?" I asked as another man held the door open for us. Jinx hung back, letting me walk in first and then he pulled open the inner door for me.

He blinked at me and we walked up to the host stand. The host was talking another couple and so Jinx turned to me while we waited. "I thought we should go somewhere nice for our first official date."

I choked on the air I was breathing in and coughed it out of my lungs. "First official date?" I questioned and let my eyes travel around the magnificent interior. The decorated ceiling was inlaid was sculptures of people and little angels and all of the like. He surely was going all out. Turning around, I wondered if there was a place to sit while we waited. Sighting a couple of ornate chairs, I was about to make my way over to them with Jinx.

"Do you have a reservation, sir?" The host questioned as he returned to his stand, stopping me from relieving my feet that were hurting already.

Jinx nodded and stepped forward to the podium like stand the host was behind. "There should be a reservation under the name Jinx."

Instantly the host's face brightened, "ah, Mr. Jinx! What a pleasure it is to finally meet you," holding his hand out, the men shook hands. "I've heard oh so much of you, I was wondering if I might be able to-"

Jinx raised a hand, "please excuse me sir, but tonight I'm rather busy with personal business." He gestured towards me and I straightened my posture, placing a small smile upon my face.

"Forgive me Mr. Jinx, I didn't realize." The host slightly ducked into a bow. "Please follow me to your table."

"I was actually hoping for booth," Jinx told him.

"Yes of course sir, I can arrange that." The host nodded eagerly and continued to lead in the same direction. As we passed by both tables and booths, I was happy that Jinx told me to dress fancy. All of the other woman I could see were adorned in fancy dresses and I bet not even a single woman was wearing dress pants. I passed by a particular table with a familiar face and I narrowed my eyes to the person, trying to call the face to memory. Continuing to walk at the same speed as I still stared, I was surprised when I bumped into something. A tiny bit dazzled, I backed up and saw that I had bumped into Jinx.

He turned back to me with a questioning glance. "Yes, Roxie?"

My face blushed a rosy pink, "sorry, I didn't realize you had stopped walking." He nodded with a grin and my eyes followed him as he slid into one side of the booth. I took off my fluffy coat and scouted into the other side of the booth, placing it beside me.

The host stood aside us, to my right and Jinx's left. He placed menus down on the table for us and then said, "your waiter will be right with you." He gave a small bow once more and departed.

"What were you saying earlier?" Jinx handed one of the menus to me and opened his.

Unfolding mine on the wooden table, I glanced over the long list of appetizers. There were probably at least two for each letter of the alphabet. "Earlier?" I repeated, trying to think of what I had been saying. When it clicked, I reminded him of my words. "You said something about this being our first date?"

He nodded nonchalantly and flipped to the next page as if he hadn't seen enough options already. "I thought we should go somewhere nice."

"I didn't realize we were in a relationship." I told him, adjusting my sitting position uncomfortably.

His eyebrows furrowed, "I thought it was assumed when you decided to not return home."

Shaking my head, my long black hair swung on my chest. "I didn't realize you took it that way."

He shrugged while he continued to prove his point to me. "If not when you decided to stay, then at least when you tried to get in my pants."

I blushed bright red as he mentioned it to me and brought me back to that night. "Shut it, Jinx. We're in a public place right now, other people can hear what you're saying!"

With a smirk, Jinx asked me a question. "Are you ashamed to be attracted to me?" He raised his dark eyebrows, making them dance on his forehead.

"Don't be so self centered," I made a face at him. "I'm obviously the attractive one here."

Just as I finished speaking, a waiter appeared. "Please forgive me for the long wait, we are unusually busy tonight. I assume you have had enough time with your menus?" I shook my head and looked to Jinx, who was in agreement with me. "No?" The waiter questioned and put away his notepad. "Perhaps I can start you off with some drinks then and return later to see if you have decided?"

"Yes, please." I told the waiter. "May I just have a glass of water with a lemon?"

"Of course," he told me and turned to Jinx.

"I suppose I'll take a red."

"What kind?"

"A positive." Jinx responded. I looked between the two men, startled. Were they speaking of blood? Since when did restaurants sell blood?

"Certainly. I will be right back."

Once he left, I just stared at Jinx. "Are you crazy?"

"What?"

"You can order blood here?"

Jinx nodded. "Yes, you can at many places."

"Not anywhere I've ever been!" I exclaimed, still surprised.

"Well now you have been somewhere they serve it." Jinx revealed to me. "Keep it on the hush though, many of the humans here are unaware of their dinner mates like me."

I crossed my arms and leaned back. "You make it sound like a want to be horror film."

Jinx laughed and began studying his menu. Able to take a hint, I scanned over the elegantly listed items on the menu before me. Several options popped out at me but it was hard to decide between the varying flavors. Finally, I narrowed it down and figured the only way to fairly pick a dish was eenie meenie miney moe. Tapping the folder as I chanted the words in my head, I happened to catch Jinx's attention.

"What are you doing?" He was giving me a disapproving look that seemed to say something along the lines of: "what the heck are you thinking?".

Sparing a glance up for him, I began to feel a bit self conscious and pulled myself up straighter at the table and sucked in my stomach. More aware of my surroundings, I answered in a sassy tone. "What does it look like?"

"I don't know," he responded and then sighed. "That's kind of why I asked you."

"I was playing eenie meenie miney moe, for your information. I couldn't decide what I wanted to order."

"Ah," he said and rubbed his neck. "That back rub tonight is going to be delightful."

"What back rub?" My lips formed a frown. Did vampire chiropractors exist? Then I thought again, of course vampire chiropractors would exist if there were restaurants that sold blood to their guests. Probably about anything and everything human had a vampire counterpart.

"'What back rub?'" He repeated my question and looked at me with laughing eyes. "Do you not remember you agreed to give me one in the car on the way here?"

"Ugh," I complained and slumped down in the seat. "I'm not going to give you a back rub. You can give me one if you want to though."

"I was under the impression you wanted to learn more about vampires, am I thinking wrong?"

That brought me back up to good posture. I shook my head vividly, leaning forward across the table. "No, I want to learn more about you!"

He held a long finger up, "when did I ever say I would tell you more about myself? I believe I only agreed to telling you more about vampires if you followed through on your side of things."

"Does it make a difference?" I questioned, thinking that I wouldn't be able to force anything personal about him out that he didn't want me to know.

We were both distracted by two new presences. "I'm sorry but I'm needed elsewhere. This man here will be your new server for the night." The one who spoke was the man from before who took our drink orders. He was carrying our drinks on a tray and he set them onto the table before rapidly departing, apparently feeling rushed by the way he walked. The other was a tall young man, much younger than the other, with a strikingly attractive face that for some reason I didn't feel drawn to. Quizzically to myself, I mulled that over. Any other day my heart would have been pounding at the sight of him.

"Hello, you may call me Gabriel, may I start the two of you off with appetizers or would you like to skip straight to the main course?" He had appeared out of the blue, standing attentively at the end of our booth. His eyes pierced through mine and then they shifted to Jinx's.

Jinx's hand flexed and a vein in his hand twitched visibly as he exchanged a quick glance with me and then looked up at the waiter. "I believe we're ready to order our main meal. No need to delay, right Rox?" I nodded enthusiastically, feeling ready to fill my stomach with some delicious, high class food.

"Alright," he took out a pencil and pad. "Let's start with ladies first, what would you like, miss?"

I read the order from my menu, flipped it closed and held it out to his extended hand. Gabriel jotted it down and did the same for Jinx, who seemed to have a certain rigidity about him. The waiter nodded and then left us to ourselves again.

As soon as he was out of reach of our voices, I leaned across the table, careful to not spill his blood or my own drink. "What was that all about there?"

"Am I not allowed to not like people?" Jinx asked defensively, crossing his muscular arms in the fitted black suit he was wearing. I trailed my eyes along his arms and his crisp white shirt beneath the exterior shell.

"Definitely not," I raised my eyebrows, joking. "You have to like every single person you meet, no exceptions."

"Speaking of people, you've been very sassy lately." Jinx commented and I noticed his muscles releasing their tensed positions; he was so weird sometimes.

The muscles in my face rearranged into a smirk of sorts. "Does it bother you?"

"No, no." He told me. "I find it very entertaining to see how you've changed from the first time we met."

I frowned, "you say so many things that I don't know how to take." Explaining myself further, I added on. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

"I thought it was an obviously good thing."

"Apparently not," laughing, I crossed my legs beneath the table. They had grown tired of their previous position.

"Apparently not," he repeated with a smile. As he spoke, I looked deep into his eyes. They were mysteriously deep and had a certain crispness about them. We were quiet until he spoke again. "You make me uneasy when you stare at me like that."

"Uneasy?" I questioned, not sure exactly what he meant.

"I can't tell what you're thinking and that worries me."

"I never realized you were so self conscious."

"I prefer the term self aware to self conscious."

"Is there a difference?"

"Oh course, shouldn't you know that? You're majoring in Psychology."

"Was majoring," I corrected him on his verb tenses, "and I can't remember everything I learned, gosh Jinx." My cheeks were puffed up because of my smiling and my eyes felt bright. "I bet you don't remember everything you've ever learned."

He acted offended, "I most certainly do remember everything I've ever learned."

"I'm sorry for offending you, of course someone as special as you would remember."

His head dipped. "I accept your apology, Roxie. I only wish I could give you half of my brain so you would understand what it's like to remember everything."

A cold draft blew past us as a group of richly dressed people walked by, speaking about politics and whatnot. Shivering, I replied. "Only half your brain? I want the whole thing."

"Only half," he said and noticed the goosebumps that had magically grown on my arm. "You can put your coat on if you're cold you know."

"I would only know that if I had your whole brain, Jinx."

"You got me there," he admitted defeat. Our chatting went on for several more minutes before the waiter, Gabriel, came by again with a tray of our plates.

"Hello again folks," he greeted and set our plates down before us. "Here are your utensils for the meal. Is there anything else you want me to get for you?" With a smile, he stood up straight and held each of our gazes for a few seconds. We both shook our heads and he clapped his hands together. "Alright, enjoy your meals!"

Taking one, I rolled the napkin open that encased my utensils and laid it out over my lap.

"Oh my god, Roxanne, is that you?" A voice startled me and made me turn to face the source. As my eyes moved, I noticed Jinx flex instinctively and his face hardened from its previously content expression. Who had noticed that I had reappeared in the world?

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><p>Oops, it's kind of a cliff hanger. Who do y'all think it is?<p> 


	20. Twenty

Hey guys, I'm so good at this updating on time thing. I bet you just love me right now. ;) If I tell you an extra story will ya'll forgive me? Here's a funny one, I was driving in a snowy place recently and I was like, "driving in snow is easy, bro!" And then I spun out. It was great. The End.

Also, it was really hard to write this chapter, I had, like, five different beginnings that I wrote down and it was difficult to choose between them D:

Alrighty, I just combed through it and fixed everything I saw, happy reading! :)

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><p>Cattie13: Awww, I store love in my heart for you too! Cliffhangers are good for the soul, bro ;)<p>

SavyD: And I'm so happy you reviewed! ^^ Thank you very much!

Dire Heart: Are you reading my mind? Haha I've kinda had that wrong story thing happen to me before and I was like, what's going on here?

Yusagi710: Thanks ^^

AlexandraSterling41: Secret! Dun dun dun, just kidding you'll find out if you read. ;)

Cas0143: Thank you! I will! :)

Luna Goddess of the Night Sky: haha that would be hilarious! c:

**Chapter Twenty**

Hallie. It was Hallie. Of all people, it was Hallie. Silently, I thanked God. For once her ditzy nature might come in handy and be useful instead of infuriatingly annoying. Hopefully, she wouldn't have even noticed that I had been gone. Putting a fake happy smile on, I beamed up at her. "Hallie, what a coincidence! It's so nice to see you here, it feels like it's been forever!" I gushed out my words to her, ignoring the mystery people behind her for the time being but then I thought again. The more attention I put on her, the less she would think about me.

She slid on the side of the booth, next to me. "Yeah, you know," she lowered her voice and leaned toward me. "I'm just letting you know as a friend but some people say you've been missing recently and they were nice enough to not say what they were referring to but I'm pretty sure they meant mentally. Is everything okay with you?"

Across the table, I could see Jinx trying to hold a smile in. He had realized that she wasn't much of a threat at all now. "I've just had a lot on my plate and so it's been hard to keep in close contact with people, you know how it gets." I struggled to keep my words truthful but also not revealing. "So, who are these people here with you?" I glanced behind her at the small group.

"Oh it's just my boyfriend, Derrick, and some friends." There was some mumbling behind her and she giggled, turning her head to face them. "I didn't mean _just _my boyfriend, Derrick, don't worry." Spinning her gaze back, she reintroduced him. "That tall one there is Derrick, he's my totally amazing boyfriend." I nodded along with her, trying to act interested in what she was telling me even though I couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened if someone else had seen me that wasn't as narcissistic and out of it as Hallie. "So, Roxanne, who's this hot hunk you're trailing with?"

I grew pink and exchanged glances with Jinx. "Oh, this is-"

He spoke, cutting me off from what would have been an awful lot of stuttering on my part as I struggled to define him. "Stephan; Roxanne's boyfriend."

I cut him a half confused look and kept my smile pasted on so I wouldn't confuse Hallie, who was twirling her long platinum blonde hair, which was as real and natural as her lack of smarts. "Roxie!" She exclaimed and poked my shoulder. "You never told me about Stephan!"

"He's, uh, a recent addition." I told her, not having a good time with finding words.

Derrick was the one who saved us, or at least the one I assumed was Derrick. "Come on, hot buns, it's time to go and stop socializing." Hallie stood up with a frown but complied.

"I guess I'll see you around, Roxanne. Have fun with Mr. Hottie!" She waved goodbye and pranced off with Derrick and their posse.

Slumping back in my seat, I let out a sigh. "Thank God she didn't realize I was actually missing."

"Is she always that dimwitted?" Jinx smirked.

"Yes but I'm guessing you didn't really mind her compliments, did you?" I questioned, not angrily, crossing my legs the other way.

"She told me what I already knew was true," he shrugged but then saved himself by looking up at me and winking before he began to cut his food elegantly.

"Of course."

"Even though Derrick didn't compliment you, he was thinking it." Jinx assured me. Taking a bite of his food, he chewed it with a content face.

Looking at him with speculation, I questioned him. "I didn't know you could read minds, how long have you been hiding this from me?"

He shook his head and corrected me and my words. "As far as I know, I can't read minds. However, I do know how guys think and you're up there on the hot scale."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, pleased, also digging into my food. "If that's so true, what number am I on a scale of one to ten?"

He cut more of his meat, and took a sip of his blood. Licking his lips of the red liquid, he answered. "Obviously, you're a ten."

"Only a ten?" I frowned at him but I was secretly happy inside.

"I didn't realize the scale went higher."

"Jinx, you know me. I have high aspirations. I want to be better than the best."

"I believe you're confusing yourself with me, though, I am better than the best."

"Naturally." I replied before putting a piece of my meat into my mouth.

Jinx lifted the glass of blood to his mouth once more and then appearing to think, he stopped with a grin. "Would you like to try a taste?"

Shaking my head viciously, I looked at him like he was a mad man, which he was. "Are you kidding?"

"Why?"

"I'm not a cannibal!" I exclaimed, pointing to his drink.

"Who said this was human blood?"

"Well, it is. Isn't it?"

He nodded, "yeah. What of it?"

I rolled my eyes at him, and dipped my next piece of food into a sauce before consuming it. "It's disgusting."

"Just try it," he encouraged. "It tastes wonderful."

"That's because it's your main subsistence." Explaining, I continued to refuse his request. "Also, did I know your name was Stephan?"

"Who said my name was Stephan?"

"You did..." I stared pointedly at him.

"Why would my name be Stephan?" He cocked his head innocently.

"Because you just said it was?"

"I did say it was." He agreed. "You know me as Jinx, though, don't you?"

"I'm pretty sure you'd prefer to be called Master Jinx."

"That's a possibility." He nodded along with a smile hanging on his lips. Sipping from his glass again, he licked his lips.

Knowing he was going to continue to be difficult, I dropped the subject and picked up a new one. The rest of dinner went by quick and before I know it, I was stuffed and Jinx had ordered a dessert for the two of us to share. When it came out, my mouth started to salivate again, even though I knew my stomach was about to commit suicide from how full it was.

A giant wedge of chocolate fudge cake beckoned to me and I carefully pruned its side with my fork, splicing it neatly. Bring it up to my mouth and tasting it, I sighed in contentment. "This is the best chocolate cake I have ever had."

"I can make you sigh like that again tonight if you like." Jinx jumped at his opportunity with a sly simper.

I sat up straighter to reprimand him. "You know I won't do it until I'm married."

"Then marry me!" Jinx suggested as lightly as whipped cream with a wink, bringing his own fork up to his mouth to taste the cake.

I laughed at him, "oh please. Come back to me when I'm an old hermit sulking about the time I was kidnapped and ask again."

"You're too pretty to become old." Jinx told me in a matter of fact fashion and propped himself up on the table with his elbows. "Shall I change you into a vampire?"

I had no idea how to respond. What was Jinx even thinking? "Take your elbows off the table, it's improper." My mind wasn't reeling fast enough for me to say anything else. I knew he wasn't being serious, at I least I thought he wasn't, but still how was I to respond to such requests even at a sarcastic distance?

Jinx's shoulder gently shock as he laughed at my response. "You don't hide your flustering very well, you know, Rox."

Rolling my eyes, I took another slice from the cake.

The chilly air nipped at my skin as we left the heat and entered the outside world. Moving closer to Jinx as we walked, I lightly gripped his arm. His breath came out in small, floating puffs of white mist. My own exhales joined his as the wind whipped them away from us.

Jinx opened the car door for me to slide in and I complied quickly, happy to leave the frigid wind. As he walked around to his side of the car, I flipped down the sun visor and opened the mirror. Gazing into it with my light green eyes, I scanned over my freckles and skipped to worrying about my messy, wind blown hair. My fingers combed through the dark layers of my hair and I held it down when Jinx opened his door so the new burst of wind wouldn't cancel out my work.

"I like your hair when it's wild looking, though," Jinx half pouted with a grin, inserting the key in the transmission. The engine came alive and warm air started to blow through the vents in front of us, seemingly trying to alleviate me from the goose bumps.

"I don't like it though," I pulled my hair over one shoulder and continued to pull my fingers through it.

"What are your thoughts on continued public activity?" He asked as we pulled away and left the restaurant.

"Such as?" I glanced over at him. Behind him, outside, trees flew by, outlined in the bright of the moon. Their snow tipped branches glowed a light blue, accenting the dark navy of the night sky. Speckles of stars popped out, forming constellations that I couldn't name.

"Going out to do stuff together, you know, like on dates."

I blushed. "As long as you're okay with the awkwardness of getting caught, it's fine with me I guess. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I can think of several scenarios that wouldn't be the funnest to be in."

The sides of my mouth turned down. "Like what?"

"Like if we ran into your mother." He suggested.

"Are you scared to meet the parents of your-" I stopped, what were we again?

"Parents of my what?"

I tried to act like it hadn't happened. "Hmmm?"

Jinx smiled and asked me about what we would do if we bumped into my mother.

"People just assume that I'm missing, how would they know that I hadn't just decided to skip town?" Besides, I had continued to text my mother after I had been whisked away. Wouldn't that be proof to leaving town on my own rather than being kidnapped?

Jinx shrugged and I entered into my thoughts, working out the possible situations in my head and figuring out what I would say if anything happened.

Before I knew it, we had pulled into the garage and Jinx had turned the car off. Undoing my seat belt, I leaned forward.

"I'm gonna go change out of this dress, okay Jinx?" I informed him as I slipped into the house and ran down the hall. I searched for comfy clothing in my room until I found a pair of tight sweat pants and a sweat shirt. Throwing them on, I padded back into the hallway to find Jinx.

He turned down the hallway and his eyes twinkled as he headed for me. A little confused at his directness, I stopped in my tracks and looked up at him. He quietly walked up to me and immediately I could see he was feeling horny or some flirty material was going through his mind, not that I necessarily minded right at that moment. We had just had a mostly pleasant dinner and I wouldn't mind some romance.

Jinx softly stroked the side of my face with his fingertips and brushed my hair behind my ear. I fluttered my eyes upward to look into his and then glanced down once again. His fingers migrated south to my chin and he pulled it up. Searching my face with his eyes, I detected something in him... was that nervousness I saw? Still inches from each other, I propped my hands on Jinx's broad shoulders and pushed myself up onto my tiptoes so I could reach him. I hesitated slightly but before he could make up for my pause, I planted a kiss on his lips.

His throat vibrated in a low growl, which I assumed was a noise of pleasure for him because I wasn't sure why he could possibly be angry. His hands traveled down my back to my thighs until he grasped them and pulled me up so I was lifted off the ground and my legs were situated around his hips. Good thing I had changed out of my dress. I let out a little squeal in surprise at the upwards movement but soon stopped as my back was pressed up against a wall. Wrapping my legs around him firmly, I allowed him to take control of the kissing.

His cool lips were a relief against my warm ones, and pretty soon I was panting. His breath intake, of course, had hardly changed, if it had at all. Moving my hands from their resting spot on his shoulders, I ran my hands through his soft tufts of hair. As Jinx continued to push against me, my lower back need readjusting on the wall. Using my legs that were now wrapped tightly around his hips to push myself up and adjust my position, he let out a moan at my movement and I smirked to myself.

He, of course, somehow caught my hidden smirk and pulled his head back slightly, giving me fresh air to breathe in. "What's so funny?" The cute frown on his face sent me into a fit of giggles that I couldn't stop. Shaking against him, I threw my arms and head over his shoulders.

With a giant hug, I shook my head. "I don't know."

He gave a sigh that sounded content and started walking back down the hall, with me still attached to his front end.

"Jinx," I asked because I couldn't see and I hadn't been carried anywhere in a very long time. "Where are you taking me?

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><p>Guess what room Jinx is taking her to! ;D<p> 


	21. Twenty One

Bum bum ba dum! Bet you didn't expect another update for 5 weeks if the pattern continued, eh? Haha well here the next chapter is! :)

Oh, another thing! I tried to draw a little doodle of how I see Jinx and Roxie and I put it up on my tumblr account. My username is apple-dust

How do you guys see Roxie and Jinx looking?

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><p>Yusagi710: Thank you very much! I love it when others think my writing is awesome~<p>

Dire Heart: Oh goody! ^^

Lovepaw: Ohhh to the bedroom, quite scandalous! ;)

Guest: If I understand your question correctly, I guess Jinx and Roxanne are currently boyfriend and girlfriend :)

thejadette: I absolutely will not ;)

ERB000: Whoa bro, thanks for all the reviews! :) I think people getting in trouble is one of the most common elements in stories, or at least one of the most interesting ones to me at least, so no, it's not weird at all that you find it to your enjoyment as well! Thank you, the rewording of that sentence certainly seems to give it more life :) Feel free to use any names, I've just found them by searching baby name sites until I find a suitable one or being like hmm I wonder if Fish would be a good name ;) ^^ Maybe Jinx is your grade 5 teacher... ;)

Vampirefreakk: I'm glad that you were relieved about who it ended up being!

AlexandraSterling41: Bingo! haha

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty One<strong>

I hung to Jinx as he wrapped his arms around my body and carried me away from the hallway. Jinx had selective hearing or otherwise he just didn't feel like responding to my question about where he was transporting me off to this time.

"Oh no you don't," I protested. I had finally realized that Jinx was bringing me to his bedroom when he had nudged the wooden door open and started carrying me over to the deliciously fluffy bedspread to drop me onto. "You know as well as I do that nothing good is going to happen here."

Jinx sighed and bent down to set me onto his soft bed. Clinging on his body like Velcro, I stiffened my muscles and wouldn't let him drop me. "Are you going to keep being an octopus?" He questioned.

"It seems that is my only option right now," I sniffed snobbishly and struggled to stay on him as he lifted himself back up.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" He complained and spun about so I was no longer in danger of falling onto the bed.

Leaning against him with a smile, I realized I had won this argument. That was, until he, himself, sat down on the bed and laid back. I was forced to move my legs so they didn't become squashed beneath him and soon I was just lying straight on top of Jinx, except it wasn't even planking. He scouted back on the bed so we were all the way on it, I would have resisted but I was dragged backwards with him because I was still on his belly. Jinx then flipped up over me in a bat of my eye and smirked his normal smirk.

Rolling my eyes at him, I tried to slip out from underneath him. "Oh no _you_ don't," he said, mocking my earlier words.

"I'm not going to do it with you," I frowned and crossed my arms, one of the limited movements I still had left with him hanging over me.

"Then you can give me that back rub you owe me instead," he compromised.

"What back rub?"

"The one you said you would give me in the car on the way out to dinner tonight."

My mouth formed a small o as I remembered and I nodded to him that I would do as I said. "You have to hold up your end of the bargain, too, then."

"Of course, Roxie. Why would I not?" I pursed my lips and gave him a look as he retreated from my body. "Oh come on, Rox." Not knowing where he was headed off to, I followed him with my gaze as he left the bed and then turned in my direction with a bottle of lotion.

"You're sneaky, do you realize that?" I accused him, pulling myself up from my lying down position into a leaning forward and sitting pose.

He winked his left eye at me, and walking back to the bed, he brushed by the door with his hips to close it even though there was no one to intrude upon the two of us doing absolutely nothing scandalous. "Naturally, why else is my name Jinx?"

"I didn't think I was supposed to judge a man by his name just like you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover." I laughed at the failure my joke happened to be.

Jinx gave my joke a slip of a smile. "Don't be such a good person around me, you'll rub off and we can't have that happening, can we?"

I groaned in my head about his stupidity, "just get over here already."

"Yes ma'am," he complied quite happily, striding the rest of the way over. Stopping in his steps, he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt that he had changed into when I had also switched out my clothing. Slowly pulling it up and off his body, Jinx revealed his chest and the glorious muscles that covered it. He wasn't one of those guys who worked out continuously to have a nice body, but he still showed a decent build. Jinx slid it off his arms and threw it aside on the floor in a heap.

"Don't be so dramatic, you're not going to impress me that way." He didn't have to know my pulse rate had just positively accelerated, though with whatever vampiric skills and senses he had, I guessed that Jinx could already tell that I was flustered. "So I was thinking, maybe you could give me the back rub instead of me giving you one?"

Smiling, he shook his head. "Not a chance right now, Rox."

"There's a future possibility then?"

He shrugged and handed me the lotion. The bottle was cool to my fingers' touch. Examining the label, I felt the bed shift as Jinx got onto it and positioned himself for a back rub.

I had totally forgotten about the scars he had on his back! They seemed to crackle as he situated himself on his belly even though they looked to be long healed. A ripple went through his back muscles as he finally let himself fall to the bed from the height he had been holding his shoulders and head up at.

The fabric of the bed spread ruffled as I scooted myself over to Jinx. "Is it alright if I sit on your butt to do this?" I questioned, trying to figure the best way to do so.

He turned his head to look at me and nodded vaguely. "Yeah." Then he shifted again and laid his head on top of his crossed arms once again.

Spreading my legs, I crossed half my body over him and plopped myself down on his butt. Giggling about how funny I thought the situation of me sitting on his butt was, Jinx made a noise that translated into words would probably be something like, "would you just get on with my back rub already?". The only reason he didn't say it was most likely out of politeness, a trait Jinx didn't seem to have a lot of.

"I'm sorry, I'll start massaging you. How long do I have to do it for?" I pushed the sleeves of my sweatshirt up to my elbows and cracked my fingers in preparation.

"For forever," he informed me and I bet he was smirking jollily to himself.

I placed my cool freckled hands on his back, almost scared of hurting him by putting too much pressure on his old wounds. The fear was eradicated when I remembered that scars usually don't hurt since they're healed. I shook my head, I had to stop myself before I had an epiphany or some other ground breaking, revolutionizing thought."You might have that amount of time left. But I don't, and frankly I can't even grasp that concept of forever."

"I won't live forever." Jinx mumbled words into the bed for me. "Don't forget the lotion."

"Yes, sir." I dragged out the r and twisted my back to grab the lotion bottle which I had laying on the bed. Popping the bottle open, I squeezed it until it came out. Cold white lotion swirled onto my hand and I tapped the top against my thigh with my other hand as to close it. With a clasp, I rubbed my hands together so I would have lotion on both of them and attacked Jinx's back. He shivered at my touch and I laughed at him. "Chilly, isn't it?"

Running my fingers over his back with the lotion, I traced over his marks. I spread out my hands and started rubbing at his shoulders. My thumbs dug into his skin and muscles, just like how my mother had taught me to give back massages when I was a little girl. We always used to switch off on giving each other massages while we watched television or even when we were just hanging out together; it was a little treat we had of our bonding time.

I sighed, brushing away the thought of my mother, and squirted more of the lotion on my hands. This was high grade stuff, I realized as I continued to work it into the dry savannah of Jinx's back, at least it was pretty nice compared to what I had used at college. Adjusting the seat I had taken on Jinx, I used the opportunity to pull down a scrunch that was in the maroon sweatpants I was wearing.

I trailed my hands down to the hem of his pants and then back up to his shoulders, the tight skin didn't give way much and its rough surfaces made me go back down and rub in the bits that hadn't been rubbed in all the way.

I finally worked up the courage to ask him. "So how did you get these marks?" Jinx didn't say anything and I wasn't quite sure whether he was just absorbed in his own thoughts or if he simply didn't wish to answer my question. "J-inx," I said and finished up hydrating his back. "Replyyy to me."

He made a gruff noise of acknowledgment that clearly said he had heard me but he wasn't going to give me an answer and I bit my lip, trying to figure him out. I was surprised in the midst of my thoughts as he pushed himself up, flexing those beautiful triceps. There was a reversal of our positions except I was facing upward to him.

"I was thinking about what you said. You deserve a back rub, too."

I smiled at his unforeseen kindness. "Really? That'd be great!"

"Do you want the lotion, too?" He questioned, leaning over me with all too innocent of a look on his handsome face. Closing my eyes, I escaped from his gaze and found the problem.

No way was I taking my sweatshirt off for him, "Haha, that's funny Jinx. I'm not going to fall for that one."

"What?" Jinx seemingly pulled back because his weight shifted backwards on my hips.

"I'd have to take my sweatshirt off for you to be able to rub lotion into my back."

He groaned and explained it to me. "Oh come on, Rox, not everything I want or say is sexual."

"Can you prove that to me?"

"I'll prove it to you right now. Now take off your top so I can give you a back rub the Jinx way."

"The Jinx way?" I raised an eyebrow so high there might as well have been a hook caught on it.

"I'll tell you what you wanted to know while I massage you." Tingles spread through my body and I rolled my eyes at my ridiculousness for how I was interpreting in his words.

I hated to admit it later on, but I relented to his words. First I made him turn away though. "Get off me for a second so I can get my sweatshirt off without looking half stupid, okay? And turn around okay? No looking while I change!"

The speed he lifted off of my body was amazing and I forced myself up into a sitting position and turned away from him, just on the off chance he spun around himself for a little peek at me which I didn't put past him, sadly enough. The sweatshirt slid off my skin and it was a relief I hadn't known that I wanted. A wave of too warm was flushed away from me and I laid back down, on my belly this time, setting the sweatshirt directly in front of me in case Jinx really did try something on me.

"You're not wearing a bra?" I almost rotated back to smack his cheek for watching but stopped myself when I remembered I was topless. My mouth wanted to growl some insult off at him but I knew if I said anything too harsh, I most likely would not be getting the back rub I was so excited for.

"You can turn around now," I told him with some sass, knowing he already had. Rearranging myself, I got comfy and laid my head the same way he had. After a moment had passed, I felt Jinx move around on the bed.

"Is it alright if I sit on _your_ butt?" He questioned, referring to when I had asked about sitting on his. That was the second time he had done that so far that night.

"You might crush me." I informed him, bluntly.

"Let me know if that happens," he said and pressed his weight on me. I laughed and stretched my back out. When his hands brushed against my skin, I shivered. A cold tingle ran down my back's nerve system until he vanquished it by contacting me again, this time with lotion.

Jinx's hands grasped my shoulders and his thumbs began rotating in circles, searching for any knots I might have. Once he found one, Jinx attacked it brutally but it felt nice. He seemed to be an expert, at least, as his hands wandered over my back it felt to be that way.

"How do you know how to give back rubs so well?" I sighed, content. My eyes fluttered shut and I just let myself enjoy it.

"In my past life I was a masseuse." He explained in a very factual voice.

I laughed, "and what are you going to be in your next life?"

"I'm going to be a hair dresser."

That wasn't what I expected to hear. "A hair dresser?"

His hands stopped on my back. "Are you judging me?" Nodding into my arms with a smile, I felt him roll off my back and onto his own by my side. "I thought I was able to talk about my hopes and dreams with you." He jokingly cried out.

Jinx was much more playful tonight than I had ever seen him, or so it seemed to me at the time. What was up with that? I held the sweatshirt to my bare chest with one hands and with the other patted Jinx's shoulder. "You're not allowed to be happy, Jinx. What were you thinking?"

"That's just it, I wasn't thinking at all." He mourned as I retracted my hand from him.

"No, it doesn't seem as if you were." I spun my body as I pulled myself up to a sitting position again. With my back facing Jinx, I slipped the sweatshirt down my arms and over my body. Straightening it, I made it comfortable around my body. My hair, which was stuck inside the top, puffed out in an orb around my head. My fingers crawled to the nape of my neck and then released my hair from its temporary prison.

"Now it's your turn to hold up your end of the deal." I laid back down beside him, on my stomach once more, resuming my previous position of my head resting on my arms. "Tell me everything about it!"

He raised his eyebrows at him and changed positions."All I said was that I would tell you how it was injected."

I rolled my eyes and patted the bed with my hands for him to get on with it."That obviously entails more."

Jinx shook his head devilishly. "Our words were free to interpret."

"Are you kidding me? That was a high quality back massage I gave you," I complained, my mouth corners pulled downward.

"And so was the one I gave you."

"Seriously, that back massage was not instead of you telling me. Is it honestly such a big, bad thing to tell me?"

"No," he shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "I just like seeing how worked up I can get you."

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><p>Ohhh, how do you guys think he got the scars?<p> 


	22. Twenty Two

Hello friends :) It is I once again, here with Chapter Twenty Twooooo. I hope you do enjoy it, but let me know your thoughts!

I apologize for the time it took me to update but would you believe my internet has been out for the past four months? No? It was actually only gone for the last four days, oops.

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><p>cattie13: Ohh bro stop it ^^ I get so happy when you review!

Lovesfairytale: Thanks! :) Dun dun dunnn, I guess we'll see what ends up happening!

Lovepaw / Emmet Cullen Rockz: Ouchie, a battle is sure to leave some scars!

shovelgirlERB0000: That's good logic you got there about reviewing haha and I wonder..., Jinx and Alex don't like each other, but how far does their dislike go?

AlexandraSterling41: Thanks and I know, right? I could totally go for a massage, too!

yusagi710: Ooo are you picking up on foreshadowing or is it just a red herring? Thank you :)

Dire Heart: Both good guesses! Ouch! Being whipped would hurt a lot!

iceskaterprincess: okay haha

Vampirefreakk: Oh yay :) Thank you!

Alice: :( I like forgiveness

Killjoy for life: Thanks! Haha maybe :)

Party Poison: A vampire prince would be very busy... hm

Nerdy Chick: Alex is neither vampire nor werewolf!

Guest: They are watching the movie starting now! ;)

Guest: That would be very action...ful? :) hehe

athenawisdom17: Thank you! I'm sorry I take so long! No more puppy eyes! I can't say no to them!

Whovian-CapitolGirl: Thanks so much! That's a possibility! :) haha I'll try to keep updating I just get distracted which is no excuse I'm sowwy!

Mimivampgirl: hehe maybe maybe not! I love getting opinions! :) Thanks my little speed reader! I'll try to make more material for you to keep busy with! ;)

: LIKE 15 OF WHAT ? :)

Falicia: what a twist that would be with ninja spies! Haha I'm working on it!

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Two<strong>

It turned out that all it took to change someone into a vampire was pretty much the routine way encased inside of every young adult vampire book. Basically, if Jinx was to turn me, he would bite me and inject his venom into me with his fangs, which made me think of the snakes I had avoided in my childhood, and then there would be some changes in how my body functioned. Except, he said depending on the human and their sire, the rate at which the changes happened were different. And if there was an allergic reaction, nothing good would come of that. When I got the hint that he meant death, I winced. I guessed it only seemed fair, though, that for such a big prize of long life that the risk was a painful death.

He had strongly stressed the fact to me that no, vampires definitely did not live forever and humans only thought so because they didn't have long enough life spans to see when vampires actually did die from old age.

The prospect of turning into a vampire scared me more than slightly. If I was to continue on with Jinx, that was what would have to happen to me though, I realized. Could I do that? So much of my life had already been given up and tossed to the dirt that it probably wouldn't even be that big of a deal to go the extra mile. I sighed and belly flopped on my bed. A thought kept nagging in the back of mind about if Jinx was who I really wanted to end up with. Was he the man with whom I wanted to spend the _rest_ of my life with? That could be centuries, or even thousands of years if I became a vampire with him. Sighing, I told myself to stop obsessing over it. Those thoughts were going to be tucked away until an undisclosed moment in the future when I would be better equipped to make big life changing decisions.

"Roxie?" There was a soft knock at my door.

"Come in," I flipped over onto my back as he lightly swung the door open and kept his hand resting on the knob. "What's up?"

"You know that movie we rented?" He leaned against the frame, bending a knee.

Tucking my waterfall of hair behind an ear, I said. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to watch it together now?"

I nodded, pushing myself up and off the bed. Landing on the floor, I stretched my arms up and out until I heard a pop. Cringing, I padded over to Jinx and followed him down the hallway to the family room. I turned my head to look outside, the snow was a tint of blue in the moonlight and the close woods had a rather haunted feeling to them.

When I entered the tv room, he was already leaning forward on the couch with the controller in hand. The room was dark aside from the blue light coming from the tv screen. It faded to black, causing the room to go almost pitch black, until the screen lit up again to show the movie title.

He clicked the remote and set it on the low coffee table. "I'm going to make some popcorn, do you want some?" Getting up, he lightly grazed my arm and passed by me.

"Sure," I nodded, and took a seat on the longer sofa. Nestling my legs close to the cushions, I swiped a blanket from the end of the sofa and pulled it over my body.

A few minutes later, Jinx appeared with a bucket of buttery popcorn in his grasp. "Scout over."

"There's a perfectly fine couch right there," I pointed to the other one, and huddled in the blanket.

He hit play on the remote, set the bucket down, and loomed over me. Staring up at him with defiance, I squinted my eyes until his arms wrapped around me and deposited me in the middle on the sofa. Jinx plopped himself down, sending a small shock wave through the cushions. Already on the point of falling from my recent replacement, the movements caused me to tip backwards into Jinx's lap.

"Hey!" I complained and struggled to get up. Lifting his hands into the air, he allowed me to sit back up.

"Shhh," he brought a finger to his lips. "The movie's already started."

I made a begrudging noise and leaned into the soft sofa beside him. We stayed in those positions, with the exceptions of shifting our legs, for the most part of the start of the movie, as it started off quite normal and not at all scary.

A few times I asked him to pass the popcorn and instead he popped a piece into my mouth. During one of those moments, the climax of the movie appeared out of no where, and I tightened the blanket around my body, refusing the kernel. Not even noticing what I was doing, my hands wrapped around Jinx's bicep and stiffened as a ghoul popped out. He moved his arm out of my frightened grasp and around my body, pulling me close to him. As the scene continued, I clutched at his chest, grabbing on his shirt in anticipation. He looked down at me and back up at the screen, a smirk crawling across his face that I didn't notice.

Jinx's hand dug into the popcorn bucket and I reached over for it, wriggling my fingers. "Ah ah," he tutted and held the bucket away from me. "Say please."

"Please," I rolled my eyes.

"Open wide," he told me with a smile.

Complying again, I opened my mouth wide with a smile. He threw a piece of popcorn and I caught it; I was on a streak. Chewing on it, I rested my head on his chest and turned to see what was happening on the tv until I couldn't bear to watch it anymore. Turning my head away from the screen, I shifted my body until I was laying down on his lap.

"Hang on," he said just as I was settled. Looking up at him with confusion, I reversed my motions and pulled back. Lifting his legs on the couch, he spread himself out until he was laying parallel to me. "Okay, you can lay back down."

Doing so, I relaxed into his body that he was propping up with an elbow. Draping his arm over my hip, he traced patterns over the sensitive skin of my stomach, where my shirt had lifted up in all our movements of rearrangement. My eyes began to droop as the music of the movie evolved into a soft lull to trick the viewer into a false sense of security. I sighed deeply against Jinx and fixed the blanket over the two of us.

His bottom leg prodded between the two of mine until it found a home there. I had almost dozed off when in an instant, the tv screen flashed bright and the actors began screaming. Jumping at the surprise explosion of audio, I stiffened my body in a gasp.

There was a deep laugh that I could feel pressing into my back. Frowning, I asked. "What's so funny?"

"You are," he took his arm that had been on my side and began playing with my hair. Jinx brought his head down to my neck, brushing soft kisses against my skin. My breath picked up and I could feel my pulse beating in the veins in my neck where his mouth was moving. His hand moved to the front of my neck and began stroking it, his thumb rubbing over one of my pulsing arteries.

I shook my head no against him, not wanting it at the moment.

Understanding, he pulled his head back from my throat and placed his muscular arm back on my hip like before.

My sleepy gaze focused on the tv once more, my eyelids growing heavily as gore splashed onto the screen and my aversion to the movie became stronger. There were more screams and shots of blood until finally an iffy conclusion that would have annoyed me if I was more aware was drawn and the sounds faded to the background. Bringing my eyes open once more, I watched as the lasting gruesome picture turned to a black screen temporarily.

"Ugh, good night," I grumbled as the end credits began scrolling up the screen and tried to force myself into a sitting position, rubbing my bleary eyes. "I don't think I can stay awake one more wink."

Jinx's muscular arms around me held me down, but in a cozy, comforting way. "That's okay, I don't mind if you fall asleep here."

"Jinx-" I began.

"Are you going to leave me alone after we just watched that terrifying horror movie?"

I nodded vaguely, struggling to keep my eyes open. "You're a big bad vampire. You can handle yourself." My words came out less perfectly articulated, and more slurred.

I trudged my way down the dark hallway and to my bedroom. Crawling into bed and pulling the covers over my body, I expected to just hit the pillow and fall straight asleep.

Boy, was I wrong. My brain activated on a whiz and I laid there, staring in space, feeling restless. I kicked the covers off with my legs, in hope that they would settle down. Flipping my body over multiple times, I tried various positions, and none of them worked for me.

After a while of this, I heard Jinx pass by and go into his own bedroom. In my mind, I heard the ticking of a grandfather clock. Was there one in the room? It sounded awful real to me but I hadn't noticed one before. I closed my eyes, fiddling with my fingers, waiting for sleep to come and take me away. Perhaps the sand man would notice I was still quite awake and come to my rescue.

The darkness of my room seemed to go on forever when I eventually opened my eyes and had to content myself with just staring into it. Why on earth couldn't I fall asleep? I never had this problem before! Especially not in college! One of my problems was falling asleep to easily while working on one paper or another! I sighed, exasperated, and rolled onto my side.

As I lay in bed, scenes from the horror movie kept flashing back in my mind. Although I did my best to stave them off, they kept returning to me again and again. I held the covers close to me as the wind blew outside, rattling something loose on the outside of the cabin.

"It's just the wind, Roxanne. It's just the wind. Don't fret over something as silly as that." I shook my head, trying to reason it out.

A lone howl echoed out in the night sky, just making it into the cabin. My fingers clenched and furled into a fist. Of course there were animals in the woods, of course. It wasn't strange that there would be a coyote or wolf out there, maybe it was even just a dog howling! I couldn't convince myself. "Just fall asleep," I told myself. "Morning will come soon and then night will come again and everything will be perfectly dandy. Nothing's going to hurt me."

As I lay there thinking, I was rudely interrupted by the crunching of snow outside. Oh God, who had come to take me away now? Maybe I laid as still as I possibly could whoever it was would just walked away.

A tap on my window set me off. In a scurry, I ripped the covers fully off my body and raced over to Jinx's room. My feet propelled me over the wood flooring of the hallway until I reached the room I wanted. I flung into it, and securely shut the door behind me. Scrambling over to him and his bed, I lifted the covers and slipped in beside him, cowering. By the time I had accomplished all of that, I had awakened him, obviously.

His eyes had a glow to them so I could that he looked confused but worried. "What's wrong?" His voice was husky, as one's voice typically is when just awoken.

"I kept on hearing noises and I tried to ignore them but they scared me too much," I whimpered and wrapped my arms around him for the second time that night, this time more desperately.

One of his large hands reached over and ran over the back of my head in a comforting fashion. Stroking my hair, he laid there with me until he could tell my heart rate had slowed to a more understandable range of reason.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, leaning into his bare chest. "It was probably nothing, the movie just made me jumpy."

"Do you want me to go check?"

I shook my head, and clutched at him. "Don't leave me alone."

"I thought you said it was probably nothing?" I could hear the smile in his gruff voice. I nodded against him, the warmness of our bodies together under the covers making up for the dash of coldness I had braved on my way over. "I'll be right back, don't you worry."

He shifted in the bed and moved the covers off his body. I couldn't see much but I heard him go to the door and I saw the form of his body exit. He pulled the door shut behind him and I heard him pad away.

There was a yell, and I gripped the covers. Did I go out to see what was going on or did I stay hidden? My eyes flashed back and forth while I bit my lip, deciding. The decision was made for me when there was a creak on the floorboards outside the room. I heard something, a hand presumably, grasp the doorknob and there was a low c-r-e-a-k as it was pushed open. A man's figure stood in the door and I just about had a heart attack until I realized it was simply Jinx.

"Did I scare you?" He grinned.

My eyebrows furrowed and I felt my tear ducts grow heavy with tears that I was trying to hold back. "Jinx! You really had me going there!" He should know that girls got more emotional than normal at night.

"I'm sorry, Roxanne." He closed the door and slunk over to the bed, crawling in. "I just thought I'd have a bit of fun with you. I didn't see anything out there besides a tree branch that must have been scratching at your window pane, and some deer hoof prints in the snow."

I curled up to him, laying a hand on his chest and snuggling into his muscular body. Jinx raised an arm and put it around me, as if to protect me from danger. Shutting my eyes, I tried to soften my breathing, feeling rather embarrassed by the loudness of it in the quiet room. "Are you sure there wasn't anything?"

There was silence until he murmured. "Yes."

Letting out a breath of air, I tried to relax my body and let myself fade into sleep. Jinx's fingers began to circle on my skin lightly, drawing faint lines across my skin in the goosebumps he was creating.

Still, I laid awake, my breathing not yet slowed down to a regular sleeping rate. "Tell me a story." I whispered into his ear, brushing it with my lip. Knowing he was still awake, I waited for his response.

"I have a price."

"A price?"

"A story costs a kiss on the lips." I sighed, propping myself up. Leaning over his body, I softly pecked a kiss on his lips. As I released from his body, he reached for me and kept my body atop his. "Wait." He told me, pulling me back into a kiss.

My leg slid over him, so I wasn't leaning uncomfortably over him, and clicked at his hip. Deepening our kiss, he rolled me over so he was on top and placed his hands in my mass of dark hair. "This is a bit more than you told me I had to pay." I breathed once I had the chance.

"I thought you might want the sensual version," his head dipped by my ear and he purred into it. His hands slid from my scalp, over my jawbone, down my neck, across my collarbones, to my chest. Jinx settled into a sitting position on my hips and skimmed his hands up my shirt playfully, then they resumed their journey.

Fidgeting, I struggled to regulate my breathing as tingles began to spread throughout my body in all the places he touched. His hands continued to my stomach, a finger dipping into my ticklish belly button, to my hips, directly in front of where he was sitting.

"I think I should get a sample of your story so I know what you want me to pay for."


	23. Twenty Three

Yo ho! I come bearing a chapter! I'm sorry it's been a quite a while ^^;

There might be an update before November if I'm able to find enough time to write another chapter but otherwise it'll be in December(ish) because I'm doing NaNoWriMo during November again this year! Are any of you doing NaNo?

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><p><strong>AlexandraSterling41:<strong> I mean, let's be serious, who wouldn't? :) I would love to have my own big strong Jinx!

**Blargablargameh:** hehe yay!

**HaterJo:** Well, I'm glad you didn't because I don't know the first thing to do when someone has a heart attack! I like long reviews so thank you~ I'm trying to work on my procrastination! I swear! I don't want to be the cause of your death :(

**yuki07101996: **A stupid extremely boring one that is in fact not even worthy enough of writing because sometimes Jinx gets tired and it messes with his mind ;)

**cattie13:** Yes, I believe that could be considered a pun! Hehe I love puns :) Thanks!

**Guest: **Thanks! :)

**Guest:** Oh you know that's a good idea! It could happen soon!

**Vampirefreakk:** Thank you very much!

**M:** Thank ya!

**Guest:** that would be cute :) maybe it'll happen in one of the next chapters ;)

**Whovian-CapitolGirl:** Thank the Lord that you're letting me off! :) hehe thanks

**Sam here:** thanks bro!

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Three<strong>

His story, as it turned out, was quite boring. So boring, in fact, that I could not help but drift off while he was in the midst of telling it to me. In the morning or rather at late dusk as it really was, I woke to a nudging on my upper shoulder. "Hey." Jinx pouted down at me with puppy eyes I had not seen on him before.

With a soft laugh, I responded, "Good morning." The bed shifted beneath me as I flipped onto my back and stretched my arms up, releasing a wide yawn.

"You feel asleep while I was telling my story to you," he said peeved.

"Oh, I did?" I feigned, pushing myself up to a sitting position. Soft beneath my legs, the bed formed to my new imprint and I pressed the fluffy covers down around my legs. "It must have been your glorious body rub."

His eyes twitched and he sighed, looking rather purposefully dejected. "Anyway, I'm waking you up to let you know that Naomi and Henry are coming over for dinner and they're going to spend the night here with us."

"What! Really?" I jumped up, a new wave of energy coursing through my body at the mention of Naomi, swinging my legs over the side of the huge bed. Black tendrils of hair cascaded over my back as I practically vibrated with excitement. I had so much I wanted to discuss with her!

"You seem more excited to see her than me," Jinx said, casting his eyes down in mock rejection.

I placed my hands on his broad shoulders, not falling for his obvious plea for attention. "I just don't love you as much as I love Naomi." Shaking my head, I couldn't contain my cracking smirk and a giggle escaped my mouth.

"Aha!" Jinx exclaimed, his dark eyes and mouth widening. "I knew you loved me."

The green lights of my eyes glossed over as I had to think about his proclamation for a minute. When it hit me that I had said the word 'love', my eyes broke through their dazed barriar. I smiled and padded his shoulders. "Sure, Jinx."

"I love you, too."

Jinx's expression toward me was one I had seen on my father a very, very, very long time ago. The last time he had seen my mother, in fact. A sudden flight of butterflies in my stomach set off and I removed my touch from him, processing what that meant. Tucking my petite hands beneath my thighs, I finally stared up at him. "Good."

Silence was between us while our gazes connected, until it was broken by Jinx's next words. "I was hoping it would be okay with you if Naomi and Henry utilize the room where all your things are as of right now."

"What? I know we slept together this last night, or day whatever, but don't you have a third bedroom here they can use?" I said, frowning as I tucked a piece of hair behind my freckled ear.

"I forgot to clean it," Jinx excused himself, "besides, I didn't try to pull anything on you while you were sleeping last night, did I?"

"No, but..." I trailed off. "Oh, alright. That's fine if they use my room, as long as you promise to not get all handsy on me when we go to bed!"

The handsome man gave me a toothy smile and took my hands in his, rubbing his thumbs in small circles over my skin. "I guess I'll have to get handsy now then," his spoke in a low voice as he leaned forward.

His lips captured mine in a passionate kiss that I wasn't quite ready for. At first, my hands rose from his but they caught mine again until I settled down and pulled back gasping for air. Once he saw that I had gained sufficient air in my lungs, he began kissing me again. His hand crept around my waist until it rested on the small of my back, pulling my closer toward him. The other rough hand found its way to the back of my neck where he supported my weight as he slowly laid me onto the bed.

My legs kicked up around his body instinctively and he pushed closer to me, until the side of the bed was stopping him from moving closer. Breathing heavily, I sucked in air once again and let my chest rise up and down a few good times. While I was replenishing my oxygen levels, his lips trailed down to my chin and neck. A shiver that I worked to repress went through my body, the tingles spreading to every nerve inside of me. When he started to suck on the skin of my neck, I moaned and stretched it out, giving him better access.

Suddenly my neck was cool and Jinx was staring into my eyes. "May I?" Seeing into his slightly opened mouth, his pearly white fangs glared me down. I nodded my consent, nervously, remembering the very first time. His hands softly moved my hair to the side and his mouth latched to my neck again. Two sharp pinpricks grazed my skin, making my hairs stand on end. As painlessly as he could, Jinx sunk his fangs into my blood vessel.

A whimper of pain escaped my mouth but I stopped myself, telling myself that it felt good. _Thud thud thud_, I could feel my heartbeat quickening in my neck, beneath Jinx's soft lips. The suction sent a tingle throughout my entire body, and I wrapped my arms tightly around Jinx's strong body. Clutching at the back of his shirt, I bit my lip to suppress a cry when the grip of his mouth tightened. At last, his lips left my skin but he stayed close. I could feel his cool exhale on my neck before he licked a drip of blood from the two entry holes. A sealant formed on my neck once his saliva had passed over my skin.

My arms released their constricting hold on Jinx and he pulled his body back, his pink tongue licking his lips of the blood. Feeling rather faint, I reminded myself to not let him take so much next time. Rising from my recline, I leaned forward and wiped my forefinger gently down his chin, catching a red streak of my blood that had escaped. Pressing it softly to his mouth, he enveloped my pale finger with his pink lips and sucked the blood off of me.

We exchanged a quick glance and I felt a heat raise in my body. After a moment longer, Jinx opened his mouth and my finger popped out, free of the blood. "Thank you, Roxy."

"Yeah," I breathed out, rotating my neck in a couple of complete circles to loosen it up.

Soft, pink hues overcame his cheeks. "I," he paused, like it was hard for him to speak his next words. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize how thirsty I was."

I cupped his face in one of my hands, "it's fine. Don't you worry about it."

"I would have waited, I think, until after Christmas if Naomi and Henry were not visiting tonight but I need to go out into public to get some things for tonight and I didn't wish to have to fight my instinct when I am around the humans."

"Shopping?" I questioned, squeezing my eyes shut tight to block out the swaying floor. Standing up from the bed, my vision dizzied me until I placed a firm hand on Jinx's bicep.

"Yes, do you want to join me?"

I shook my head slowly, removing my hands from him. I opened my eyes, still feeling rather light-headed, and gazed up at his strong jawline. "I think I'll stay here, maybe tidy up my room for Naomi and Henry. Do you know what time they're coming over?"

Jinx dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Clicking it on, I saw that the time read 8:30PM. "They'll be over in three and a half hours, around midnight, I think they said."

"Sounds good," I said, leaning back against the bed until he kissed me goodbye and headed out the bedroom door. Even then, I steadied myself. Once I heard the door to the garage slam shut, I made my move. Eating or drinking something before letting Jinx drink my blood would have been a good idea. My stomach rumbled for nutrients and my hands weren't shaking but they felt close to it.

Moving slowly from the bed, I cursed my thin frame and fast metabolism. I made in to the kitchen, and poured myself a bowl of cereal. Soaking in milk and seating myself, I munched down on it until only an oasis of slightly colored, sugary milk was left in the bowl. My second bowl didn't go down quite as fast, but it seemed to do the job of ridding me of my lightheadedness and aching stomach.

By the time I heard Jinx arriving, I had thoroughly cleaned my room. Of the things I had left in the room, they were tucked back in the corner of the closet. My suitcase now sat against the wall in Jinx's bedroom, right beside his closet. When I padded into the kitchen to see what Jinx was up to, there was an assortment of cooking ingredients out on the counters. Maroon fabric stretched across his back, shifting when he placed his hands under the running water of the kitchen faucet.

"Do you even know the first thing about cooking?" I laughed, scouting up next to him with a towel for him to dry his hands off with.

"Of course," he took the cloth from me with a smile. "I may drink blood to keep myself alive, but food is just as essential to my survival as it is to yours."

"Well then, Chef Jinx, what are we going to cook up first?" I rolled up my sleeves and set my pale, freckled hands on my hips.

Jinx gave me a look. "_We're_ not going to cook up anything until you wash your hands." Flipping the faucet back on for me, he gathered my hands from my waist and then brought the soap over to them. His finger lightly squeezed the cool thick liquid onto my hands.

As the suds built on my hands, I raised an eyebrow at him with a jesting smirk."I thought you liked to play dirty?"

With the towel, he wrapped his hands around mine once I had shut the water off and gently stroked them dry. "Oh, I do." Jinx hung the towel back up and turned his attention to the bowls and foods he had out. "The oven is preheating for the chicken right now, and I've got a couple of other things going here, so I believe this last step is for us to make desserts."

"Good job, Jinx," I held my hand up for a high-five but received no satisfying slap. "Why do you leave me hanging?" Retracting my hand sadly, I frowned up at him with dark furrowed eyebrows.

"What?" His head tilted, revealing a bit of stubble on his chin to me.

"A high-five, you know-" I rolled my eyes, "oh whatever, what are we making for dessert?"

Jinx slid a recipe off the counter and held it up for me, "peanut butter cookies," he narrated.

"Those aren't really a traditional Christmas dessert, Jinx," I pointed out with a doubting facial expression. "What about decorating sugar cookies, or some making a pie?"

His eyes narrowed at my reaction and their tint seemed to darken past their usual shade. "Those aren't my areas of expertise." Then, he took a deep breath and his tensed face relaxed. "I've already bought the ingredients for peanut butter cookies; we don't have time to go back to the store now."

"Alright, Jinx." With my hand resting on his nearest shoulder, I scanned over the list. "We got the oven preheating so I guess our first step is to measure out everything."

He reached for the unopened bag of flour, letting my hand fall from his shoulder. While he worked on it, I cracked an egg into the bowl and searched for the garbage. Once I found it, I threw the egg shell in it and moved onto getting a cup of peanut butter out of the jar. At the sound of his grunts, I looked over at him as I scooped the peanut butter into the bowl.

Jinx finally split open the bag of flour and an explosion of the fluffy powder splattered him at full force. At the commotion, I looked up from the butter I had grabbed and a wide grin spread across my face. "You got a little something on you." I raised a hand and wiped off his nose.

A glint overtook his eyes and his own smirk grew. His hands slid over his face, removing the majority of the left over powder and he jumped at me. With a cry of laughter, I evaded him and found myself on the other side of the kitchen table.

"That's not fair Jinx," I giggled when he began to start circling the table, his floured hands held up for me. "I don't have anything to attack back with."

"Exactly," Jinx said, drawing out the syllables tauntingly, just long enough for me to be able to reach the bag he had set down and delve my hands into it. "Now, that's not fair!" He exclaimed playfully.

"We're plenty even now," I replied and hopped up to him, planning to stick my hands in his hair. Before I was able to, his hands wrapped around me and squeezed my butt. "Hey!" I exclaimed. "Now I'm going to have hand prints on my butt!"

With my own hands, I mimicked him and spanked him with both hands, a cloud of flour floating out from the contact and settling on the ground. "These are my nice pants," he complained with a frown.

"And these are my favorite pants," I retorted. "If you can get them dirty, I can get you dirty."

Suddenly, he lifted me up and sat me on the cleared table. Taking his still slightly floured hands, he placed them on the back of my neck and pressed a kiss onto my lips that I gladly accepted. "If you put it that way, you're welcome to do it anytime." He pulled away from me to breathe.

"You can't kiss everything away," I clutched at the front of his shirt, creating white marks over the folds of it and pulled him back, initiating the kiss this time.

I could feel myself get warmer when he whispered into my ear, "I can try."

"You had better," my hands lifted up to his head and without any notice, I scrubbed the last of the flour into his hair with a smirk and jumped off the table when he stepped back in shock.

Once everything had been measured out and mixed together into the bowl, I began taking spoonfuls of the batter and placing them on the baking sheets. By the time I had finished, Jinx was done preparing the chicken and was just putting it in the oven. He held the door open for me, allowing the warm draft of air to flush over me as I slid the cookies into the oven.

Just then, the doorbell, that I didn't even realize we had, rang and I jumped, hitting my wrist on the side of the oven. Giving out a yelp of pain, I pulled my wrist back to look at the burn. "Ouchie!"

With a smack on the door, I closed the oven. "They're here already, we've got flour all over our clothes, and now I just got burnt!" I shifted my head up to look at him but Jinx had already retrieved a towel and had dampened it with water. Dripping water with water, he placed the towel over my wound and wrapped it around my wrist with gentle fingers. "This is warm water," I pouted, holding the towel in place as he withdrew his hands from me and walked out of the kitchen.

"Warm water makes it less likely to blister, now I'll answer the door while you go get changed or at least wipe the flour off of you." I heard his voice get distant as the distance between us expanded, him going to answer the door and me leaving the kitchen from the second entrance.

"Ixie!" I heard a vibrant exclamation as I entered Jinx's room. "We've got the second greatest news you'll ever hear in your whole entire life!"

"Or at least close to it," came the always subdued and quite calm voice of Henry.

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><p>I wonder what their news is? ;)<p>

Ok also:

If I were to write a non-vampire related story would you guys read it? I would probably put it on Fiction Press, the sister site of this one. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's practically the same site as this one but instead of having fanfics, it's for original stories(like this story here haha). I kind of have a scifi plot developing in my head with space travel in it, and another about this girl and there's a rebellion in a city way back when but I might post something completely different there so idk. If you were to check it out, what would make you want to read it or what would you want to see in it?

UPDATE: Alright my friends, I wrote and posted the first chapter of a sci-fi story plot! It's up on Fiction Press now! My username there is AppleDust and I called the story Discharged! I'd really appreciate if any of you went to check it out but I absolutely understand if you don't because it's not about vampires and that's why we're all here today (If you want to find it, just Google: AppleDust Discharged FictionPress)


	24. Twenty Four

Hello friends :) This is my (belated) New Year's present to you guys! I know it's been a while; I'm a horrible horrible person :( I'm almost done finally! Only a few chapters are left! Though sadly enough, I procrastinated working on this chapter by working on the next haha oops

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><p><strong>L4N498<strong>: Worry not! It's exciting! :)

**PiptheSnake: **You used to be shovelgirlERB000 in the past, right? Also, oh my goodness I couldn't have forgotten to reply to you! Are you sure you commented on Ch 22? I saw and replied to your post on Ch21! Anddd absolutely nothing is up with Naomi and Henry ;)

**HaterJo: **I mean killing is an older sister's best talent, right? ;) Oh my gosh stop reading my mind you suck haha nah it's still possible because they're not like... dead? Idk I think being vampire is more a disease or something :)

** 92: **Thanks! :)

**Guest: **I'll never make more! Hahah just kidding (:

**MayySully: **Thank you! A few months later still counts as soon, right? ;)

**major book worm person: **The rest has (mostly) yet to be written, and some of it is here!

**Mum2shane: **Yep! I'll make it eventually! It's almost near complete I think

**Chase-the-White-Rabbit: **Thank you! I hope he's had some good character development but I definitely still need to work on it! Yay I love two thumbs up (:

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><p>Chapter 24<p>

I emerged from Jinx's bedroom smoothing down my newly attired dress. The black fabric wrapped nicely around my body and didn't have any of the flour stains from Jinx that my pants and shirt did. They were lying in a heap in the room which Jinx was most likely going to complain about later but it felt like a lifetime had passed since I had last seen Naomi and I was buzzing to hear what her good news was. As small as her body frame was, the girl's voice sure could carry so I had heard every word.

Several spots of flour still dotted my hair like freckles, I was positive, and although I attempted to brush them out but all I succeeded in doing was fading them to a less apparent white dust. Suddenly, I felt a bit self conscious about the fuzzy socks I had put on with the dress. The floor was cold to the touch but they certainly did not at all go with my dress. Their colorful stripes definitely 'lit up' the dress in way that Naomi might disapprove of.

When I rounded the corner, Jinx was standing a few feet away from Henry. His maroon silk shirt adorned with light smudges of white faced me and I had to conceal a giggle at the two slightly smeared hand prints on his butt; he had evidently tried to wipe them away to no avail. Jinx's broad shoulders turned toward me at my soft entrance and he immediately gave me a long look, already knowing what I was smirking about. I just raised my eyebrows and took a step toward him.

Naomi, who was stuck to Henry's side with one of his arms wrapped around her lithe waist, was still until her sparking eyes landed on me. "Roxy!" She exclaimed, leaping from Henry's embrace. "I was waiting for you to come back out from your room so I could tell you both the news at the same time." Her light hands wrapped around mine and she stared up at me happily, a permanent smile upon her face. Twinkling joyfully, her eyes blinked up at me. "So, are you gonna guess?"

I looked to Jinx briefly, who shrugged and turned to glance at Henry who wore a sly smile. Her pink lips formed a tight line and within her cold hands, I was even able to feel the normally unnoticeable, slow pulse pick up with her bubbling energy. "I've got not a clue, Nao-"

"We're pregnant!" She exploded in happiness, no longer able to stand keeping it in anymore, and bounced back to her man exuberantly. "Can you believe it?" Slender arms wrapped around the tree trunk of a man lovingly and she rested her head against him. Henry returned her affection with a single arm around her back again.

Cocking my head, my mouth fell open in surprise. It was not that I was not excited for my friend, I was just shocked. "I didn't realize that-"

"That it was possible for me to have children even though I drink the blood of humans?" She giggled, the tips of her fangs only slightly showing as her mouth open, "of course I can have children! Though, to be honest, we've been trying for a while." Naomi exchanged a soft glance with Henry.

"But how?" My curiosity was getting the best of me and so I probably came off a bit rude to them.

Jinx opened his mouth with a smirk."I'm sorry to break it to you, Rox, but when two people love each very much-" He shifted his stance and walked over to me, settling his forearm on my low shoulder with a suggesting eyebrow.

"Oh shut it Jinx," I turned my head in order to roll my eyes at him. "I know how babies are made. I just thought, because you guys are, well, vampires-" I paused, gauging their reactions to make sure they weren't offended before continuing. "I thought that having kids was something you had to give up when you became a vampire."

Henry spoke for the first time to my ears the night with his deep voice vibrating. "No Roxanne, it's possible for us to procreate." Naomi winced at the word and gave him a nudge. "We are still humans in all reality consisting mostly all of the same functions as uninfected people."

"It's only a venom of sorts Rox," Jinx added, "we're not the undead like media seems to try to portray us. Unless you want us to be," he lifted his upper lip, with a wink, to reveal two of his fangs and his pink tongue quickly ran over them.

"Oh okay," I nodded with acceptance, ignoring Jinx's actions, and my eyes followed Henry's hand as he brushed a hair out of his lady's face.. "Well, that sure is wonderful Naomi! Do you know whether it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"We're going to wait to find out and either way it's too soon to tell." Naomi blushed, I think it was the first time I ever saw her cheeks grow pink.

"Congrats man," Jinx grinned, moving his muscular arm around my waist. His fingers danced lightly across the fabric of my dress and I leaned into him, bring my own arm around his waist. "And congratulations to you, too, Naomi. I'm happy to hear of your news."

"You know Jinx, I brought some food and drink with us," Henry said. "I wasn't sure what you would have access to here so let me just bring that in and I'll be right back."

"Oh honey," Naomi lightly pressed her fingers on Henry's chest. "Roxy and I can go get everything while you two catch up in the kitchen. Right, Roxy?"

I glanced at her, not sure what she was trying to get at, and nodded. "Sure, we'll be right back in. I'll just get my boots and coat from the closet."

"Naomi, dear, would you get the presents from the car, too, if you're going to go out there?" Henry questioned as he stepped toward Jinx.

"Sure, sweetie." The auburn haired girl smiled up at him and worked on zipping her fluffy white coat back up. It extended to the middle of her thighs where a strip of a pair of dark faded jeggings met with it. Tall tan boots climbed up her calves, not quite meeting the lush jacket.

Jinx relinquished his hold on me and my fingers trailed lightly across his back. I slipped ahead of the two boys in order to grab my new gear from the closet.

I came back bundled up to see Naomi sliding a cell phone into her coat pocket. A pair of black mittens hung out of her other pocket that she grabbed and pulled on with ease. The small woman tightened her scarf and grinned up at me. "Ready to brave outside? It's quite chilly, even for our normal winter cold."

"I'm used to much colder," I winked at her as I admired her stylish clothing. "Jinx's just over there you know."

There was a moment of silence from the kitchen, where both Henry and Jinx quieted down, before he called, "what was that Rox?"

"Nothing," I replied sing-song and pulled the front door open for Naomi to pass through before me. "Speaking of presents, I'm sorry I don't have anything for either of you for Christmas! Come to think of it, I don't have anything for Jinx, not that I could have gotten him anything if I had wanted to."

"I'm sure an opportunity will present itself," Naomi said, all too knowingly, and I closed the door behind us. "But don't you worry your silly little head about gifts Roxy. I know you've had to deal with Jinx and that's enough as is. It's present enough that you decided to stay."

Goosebumps formed on the revealed skin of my legs, prickling up. With each exhale, white smoke floated away and the hairs of my nostrils seemed to freeze mid action. A shiver went through my body and I was careful to not let any of the high piled snow get into my boots.

A warming hug from Naomi enveloped me and I wrapped my arms back around her in response. She left go after a short second and dug into her purse. "Here they are," she held up a pair of car keys and unlocked the vehicle. "I think the two of us should be able to get everything in one trip but I suppose we'll see."

"Okay," I nodded and followed her to the trunk of the shiny silver car. "Just hand me whatever."

As she popped the trunk, Naomi turned to me and relaxed, leaning her body against the body of the nice car. "So, Roxy, have you..." she trailed off, leaving a space for me to catch on, "yet?"

"What?" Without a clue to her meaning, I stared at her blankly. Then realization kicked in with a burst and I instantly shifted on my feet. My fingers found their way to each other and began fidgeting together. "Uh," I looked down but then decided that was stupid. My decisions and opinions counted as much as the next and had a backbone. My hands dropped back to my sides and one slipped into my pocket. "No, we haven't."

"What!" Naomi exclaimed, so loud that the men inside could probably hear. "He totally wants to, I could practically see him undressing you when you walked in today in that smoking hot dress of yours."

With a huff of white air, I rolled my light evergreen eyes. "I am aware that he wants to have sex with me, Naomi." I nudged her, "thanks for the clothes by the way."

"Then what's the problem?" Her eyes narrowed speculatively. "Do you not like him? Oh my god, Roxanne, you are not regretting your decision to stay, are you?" It was more of a threat than a question.

"No, no, I don't regret staying Naomi." I shook my head and I could feel my cheeks turn pinker than their already cold nipped shade. "I don't know," I stopped, telling myself to be firm in my statements. "I just don't want to have sex 'til after marriage, you know? I think it makes it more special." The wind started to howl, cutting off the subject train. "It's getting cold out here, let's hurry inside Naomi."

Instead of the disappointed pout that I expected to see upon her face, her eyes held a mischievous glint. In the dark of the outside, I was not sure how it occurred, not even the moon was that bright. "Alright Roxy." She handed me a couple of bags and dish or two of something I could not identify in the darkness before taking out a few items herself and closing the trunk.

With a little difficulty, Naomi managed to lock the car again and I was able to open the front door for us. We stomped the snow off our boots and made our way to the kitchen carefully. Upon the island, we set down the bags and dishes.

"Why don't you two set up the table while we get ready and put the stuff in a bedroom...?" Naomi glanced between Jinx and me, unsure about where to put their suitcases they had originally brought inside.

"I'll show you," I nodded, moving toward the closet. I shrugged my jacket off of my body and stuffed my mittens in one of the pockets. The laces of my footwear easily loosened and I pulled off my wet boots without falling over. I took Naomi's jacket and boots, putting them next to mine in the now homey closet. With at least four sets of winter apparel, it felt much nicer and cozier.

While the boys worked in the kitchen, we scooted past them to the front entry. There were three bags sitting where they had been left. Naomi grabbed her two and I took the biggest of them, rolling them down the hall to my previous bedroom. "You two can stay in the room just down here." We settled the luggage in there and Naomi, of course, had a quick reply as I turned on the light of the blackened room.

"You haven't even been here a month and you're already running the place, what should I call you? Mrs. Jinx?" Naomi winked, taking enjoyment at my sudden rush of red.

"No," I replied, flustered. "Jinx and I are still separate entities.

"Though I see you two like to share your 'entities' a little bit. Nice hand prints," Naomi prodded me with a happy smirk. "Marking your territory, I see."

Laughing with less embarrassment, I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. "I never know what to expect with you around."

"I'm just so glad you're still around," she wrapped herself tightly around me again. With a grimace of slight pain at her rib crushing strength, I patted her back. "I love having girl friends like you!"

"Yep," I managed to reply and felt the air slowly begin to press out of my lungs.

"Don't squeeze her to death, Naomi." Henry said from the door way, calmly looking on. "I think she'll want to wait until at least after dinner for that."

Naomi faced her man and the grip around me lessened slightly. "Oh, is it already finished? I'll meet you guys in there. Take the presents with to the table, would you Henry?" She handed him two bags and waved us away.

I never could understand how Naomi and Henry fit together as a couple. I pondered the thought as we walked back to the kitchen, eying Henry. Aside from their physical differences – Henry's height advantage and darker coloring – they had widely disagreeing attitudes. Henry, on one hand, came off as solemn and like a steady marker in a storm whereas, on the other hand, Naomi was full of life and though her emotional scale usually tipped toward happiness, it had more than one apparent setting. There was definitely no way they agreed on doing the same things.

In the kitchen, Jinx was just setting the meat on the table when Henry set the bags down on the wooden surface. "It's a shame we're not at the mansion this year," he commented to my man. I think it was the first time I ever heard him express displeasure in something logical, "though it was very kind of you to invite us to a more personal dinner. The mansion can become quite overwhelming at times, with so many people milling about."

Jinx had some response I didn't pay attention to and soon Naomi came in. She skirted by Jinx, patted his chest with one of her pale hands, and took the seat across from me. "Are we ready?"

Henry and Jinx took seats on the end of the table in response. Jinx, at my left, raised his glass and spoke a few words. "To friends, love, and the start of new lives."

Naomi broke open in a smile, "to new lives," and she clinked her glass against his first.

Of the dark red liquid in their glasses, I could only assume it was blood. If it wasn't, there would probably be some of it in my glass as well and a lack of it in Naomi's. My own glass of water was sufficient for me. "O-?" Jinx asked Henry, as if he was on the same thought track as me.

I made a face at his query, but I hadn't thought about that before. I supposed the different types had to taste different in some respect or another. But the '-'? It seemed like a little bit of a show off to me.

"Exactly," Henry smiled as he passed the plate of meat to Naomi.

She accepted it and added to the conversation, "I prefer AB but Henry dear always insists upon his O- when we go and supposedly it's supposed to be healthier for you." My eyebrows furrowed, where did they go? Was there a vampire store? Or did they rob a blood donation clinic? Perhaps they had an arrangement with some hospital? "With the baby, Henry's been going overboard on caring for me." Her hand unconsciously fluttered to her yet flat stomach.

Naomi's man placed his fork in his slab of meat and cut slowly downward with his knife. He briefly looked up at me. "Do you know what blood type you are, Roxanne?"

"Uh," my eyes shifted to Jinx and I felt the speed of my pulse rise. In response to my uncomfortableness, Jinx shot a glance at his friend to tell him to back off.

Henry laughed, "oh, don't give me that look. It's not as if I'm going to drink from your lady, Jinx."

"I don't know," I replied curtly. "Sorry to disappoint your taste buds. Maybe Jinx could help you out with that," my head tilted toward him.

"Oh, you naughty girl, you. Have you been letting Jinx taste the nectar?" Naomi questioned devilishly.

"Ugh," I shuddered and shook my head at her. "Don't refer to blood as nectar, please."

The rest of dinner went by swimmingly and soon I aided Naomi in clearing the table. "Before we do dishes, let's open presents, yeah?" She grinned and set each of the bags before us. "You first, Roxy!"

I sat down again and peered past the pink tissue paper of the glittery red bag. With my left hand, I pulled out the main object. As I ripped off the paper excitedly, I began to see a whitish slightly rectangular box. I threw the tissue paper aside and stared in joy at the gift. "Oh my god! No way Naomi!" I exclaimed and hurriedly took the top off. Sitting before me was my very own iPhone! "And Henry, thank you as well!"

"I want to be able to keep in contact with you when we're not at the same place, like when you're here and I'm not." Naomi clasped my hands in hers. Had Naomi known that I had had a phone when I arrived at the mansion and sparingly used it until it had disappeared? Or was this something so I wasn't completely under Jinx's jurisdiction? Or perhaps it was just as she said, a simple and innocent means of staying in contact? "Promise you'll call me?"

I was too engrossed in everything to notice Jinx's slight frown. "Of course, Naomi," I replied. "Thank you so so so much, I've never had a phone like this before!"

"I may have already put our numbers in there," she gave me a embarrassed smile. "I guess I got caught up in the excitement of gift giving. Now, Ixie, it's your turn!"

He rolled his eyes, something that was not common in him, but he accepted the old nickname begrudgingly. He dug into his own bag and out a similarly shaped box. "I already have a fine phone," he told her without any fluctuation in his monotone grouchy voice.

"Oh, it's not a phone." Naomi giggled knowingly and even Henry joined in with her. Curious, I leaned closer and narrowed my eyes to try to inspect what was inside.

"Then what is it?" He pulled the wrapping off and opened the box... to be disappointed. "Actually, what is this?" Jinx held up a silver chain for all to see, a pink half of a heart dangling, disgust clear on his face.

"I thought it'd be cute if you and Henry had friendship necklaces," Naomi smiled. "I know you two have such a great relationship but others need to see that you can both be quite compassionate. There's to you than what meets the eye."

Jinx closed his eyes momentarily before opening them and breaking into a smile. "Wow," he looked between Henry and Naomi. "Thank you so much."

"I'll help you put that on Jinx," I stood from my chair and walked behind his. The necklace was cool to the touch and I unclasped it with little difficulty. Gently, I brought it around his neck and clasped it. My fingers ran over his shoulders. "Perfect." I whispered with a giggly grin and took enjoyment as his apparent fall of masculinity. I still thought he looked masculine but to say Jinx didn't have any preconceived notions would be a lie.

"Show him yours, Hen." Naomi encouraged Henry. Begrudgingly, he pulled at the collar of his shirt. Henry revealed a similar chain with the other half of the heart. "Aren't they just the cutest things you've ever seen Rox?"

"Oh yes," I agreed pleasantly. "I definitely think the two of you should wear them all around. They make you look tough. Now let's go do the dishes you big tough boy." I ruffled his fixed hair as I left to the sink.

Naomi stood up and offered politely. "We can do the dishes, after all, you prepared the meal. Guests do the dishes for holidays, don't they?"

I wouldn't have anything of it, especially after they had given me such a wonderful, not to mention expensive, present. "No way Naomi, you two just relax, alright? Jinx and I can cover these. You've already given us so much, I couldn't ask any more of you."

"Well, if you don't want me to, I won't insist too much upon laboring for you." My auburn haired friend laughed. "I always hated doing the dishes, reminds me of my boring old life before I met my precious Hen." She had walked behind his chair and had her arms resting upon his shoulders comfortingly.

"I'll be back to help you with those, but I have to talk with Henry for a moment." Jinx promised and nodded at the fellow man as if it was a signal to go gossip.

"Hmmm," Naomi sighed and watched as the two men walked into the other room. "They're probably going to see if their necklaces actually fit together. Figures," she waltzed toward me and settled against the counter.

Below the sink, there was a bottle of dish soap and a pair of rubber gloves amongst other things. I pulled the ugly green gloves over my hands and squirted dish soap into the sink. "How did you go from dish washing to a high figured man like Henry?" I questioned and plunged my gloved hands into the sink of soaking dishes.

"Oh, that's a long story." Naomi's gaze shifted downward. "Let's save it for another time, yes?" Blinking through her long eyelashes, she looked up at me, a hint of sadness betraying her casually happy expression. The woman twirled away, gracefully whisking out of the kitchen, and then I was alone.

When I was almost done with cleaning off the dishes, Jinx sidled up to me with a wiping cloth. "Wanna go for a walk?" He questioned when I handed him a dish to dry.

"What, outside?" The skin of my forehead rose and he took the next plate from me. "No way, it's freezing."

Jinx shook his head and set the plate in the cupboard. "It'll be fine, come on." He turned to me with an attempt at puppy eyes. "We can watch the sunrise together."

"Are you going to burn up into a crisp on me?" I winked and hit his side with my hip playfully. "I'll go as long as you don't complain about any snowball attacks that may or may not happen."

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><p>Did any of you guys go anywhere fun for the holidays? I just stayed at home with my family but we were thinking about going to California at one point<p> 


	25. Twenty Five

It's finally summer! I have three(ish) chapters planned for after this one but I guess we'll see how it goes!

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><p>(these replies are old to new)<p>

**M:** sorry for making you wait so long haha

**Guest:** Aw thanks bud! I think you're right about Jinx being sort of a hopeless romantic :) Yaw I thought the whole undead thing was getting kinda old so here we are!

**Psycho killer 7:** Thanks! :) That's a good idea! Maybe I'll go for it, I was also thinking of doing a back story of Naomi and Henry, so maybe Jinx will pop up in there!

**Guest:** thank you!

**Guest:** It's not quite finished yet! I'm just a really slow writer haha

**Guest:** Thanks! I guess we'll see! :)

**Lucy:** I'm sure there will some sort of argument, those two are quite contentious!

**Weirdo:** Mmm, we'll see how it goes ;)

**Jasmine:** Don't worry it's still going!

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><p>Chapter 25<p>

"So where are we headed to?" I clung to Jinx's arm as a gust of wind blew against us. The snow it brought stuck to the fur of my hood and revealed bits of my dark hair.

"Just up here," he turned to me with warm eyes and a bounce in his step.

I released his arm and bent down to the ground. "So much walking," my chest heaved with a sigh and I let myself fall. The snow embraced my small body, and I turned my head to watch the falling snow. My eyelashes twitched as the frozen crystals stuck to them.

"What are you doing down there?" Jinx asked and walked to my side, looking down at me with a smile.

I shrugged and sat up. Bringing my arms around the front of my crossed legs, I gathered snow. "Think fast!" I flung a snowball at him and ran in the opposite direction before he had the chance to catch me in my tracks.

"Roxy!" He exclaimed and I stared at him from across the field. "Don't you know I always win snowball fights?"

"I'll have you know, I was in a snowball competition league my sophomore year of college and my team dominated."

"I'm sure you did," a snowball pelted over the snow filled area, arcing right to my position.

Dodging it, I dipped my hand in the snow and threw one back at him. We chased each other around for a while, running in and out of the woods and finding protection in the pine trees.

A supply of snowball built up in my arms as I ran around collecting clumps of wet snow. Once I located his dark form, I snuck up and began unleashing the fury of snow upon him. Only half hit him but I felt success.

I shrieked with laughter and hid behind the nearest tree. A snowball hit my revealed foot and I jumped at the impact. With a giant grin, I scooped my hand into the snow and packed it with my mittened hands. Sneaking my head out from behind the tree, I looked around for Jinx.

The clearing was empty. My eyes narrowed; they searched among the trees to find a hint of his clothing but there was nothing.

Thud! Something hit my back, I spun and another landed on my left knee. "Jinx!" I exclaimed and loosed my only snowball in inventory at him. The white powder struck him straight in the middle of his chest and I gave a whoop of victory.

"Don't cheer too quick," my man smirked and bent to grab fresh snow from the ground.

Before he got back up, I tackled his knelt form to the ground and straddled his waist. My long hair fell over my shoulder as I placed hands on either side of his head with a devilish smile. Both hands dug into the snow and I sprinkled it over his body.

He squeezed his eyes shut in the cutest way and I giggled. Taking advantage of my unaware moment, he flipped us over and it was me on the back with him straddled upon my own waist. His red cheeks glistened with melting snowflakes and white clouds escaped his grinning mouth.

"You think snow on the face is funny, do you?" Jinx laughed and grabbed a handful from beside me.

"No, don't!" My shoulders shook as I laughed. The snow attacked my pink skin and I exclaimed, "that's cold, Jinx!"

"You're a real scientist," he proclaimed and rolled off my stomach to lay by my side.

We laid in the snow for a while until Jinx stood up and brushed the freshly fallen snow off of himself. He reached from my hand and pulled my body up to his. Our warm breath exchanged space as I tilted my face up to him and he tilted down to me.

I could feel my heart pounding in my ears as I let out a shaky breath. There was endless time in his dark eyes. Nothing stood between us then, it felt like an eternity and just a few seconds all at once.

Once I started to care about the cold that had began to move its way into my boots, I wrapped myself around him and nuzzled my head into his chest. The cold exterior of his coat was unpleasant to my face but I was convinced that if I held myself there, I would soon feel warmth.

"Roxanne."

"Hm?" I hummed an noncommittal reply, staring off to where the dark navy blue of the night sky was being infiltrated by lighter tints. I took a second to glance at him before I went back for a double take. His face was serious and a muscle in his face twitched. At the sudden change of expression, I frowned.

As soon as he got down on one knee, my ears seemed to only pick up the sound of my own roaring blood and wind blowing snow amongst the barren trees. There was a quiver in my breathing and I realized what was going on. All I could do was stare at him; his mouth moved without me being able to concentrate on his words.

I was in a daze of shock as he spoke some speech that he must have prepared. Only small bits and pieces froze in my memory.

"-devote my life to you-" "-ever since I've met you, I've felt something change inside of me-" "-don't know what I'd do without you-" "-so much fun together-" Able to tune in wholly for his last words, I felt anxious energy flow over me and fill up my body cavity with a bubbling speed. "Roxanne, will you marry me?"

There was a ring that he popped out of his pocket, in the same box that I had seen Naomi hand to him earlier that night but thought nothing of. In the rising sunlight, the sparkle was caught and it shimmered gracefully.

"Uh," I took a deep breath and tried to think. "uh, Jinx," my heart wasn't even acknowledging my attempts to slow it down. "What I'm about to say isn't a no," at my words, his face cracked and I widened my eyes in panic. Oh God. "But it also isn't a yes."

An array of emotions flashed across his handsome face and glinted behind his increasingly shiny eyes. Jinx's jawline worked up and down as he unconsciously clenched and unclenched the muscle in what appeared to me to be the start of a fit of internal frustration.

I had to finish talking before he completely turned off from my voice. "Look, we've known each for, what, six months? And for half of that we didn't exactly even have a working relationship, hell, we've probably only been good since we've come to this cabin of yours." At the lack of breath in my lungs from my near shouting, I took a deep breath and continued with a slightly shuddering voice, less loud. "I know I like you," his narrowing eyes dropped from my face, "hey Jinx look at me," tentatively, I placed a mittened hand on his face. "I _know_ I like you and I think I might even love you but you've got to understand, I'm just not ready for marriage yet. I'm only 21!"

Jinx tried to interrupt as I filled my lungs again and he finally rose from his kneeling position and shook my hand off of his cheek. His mouth opened but I kept on with my stream of words before he could get his first sound out.

"Hey, I'm not done yet," I frowned at him and crossed my bundled up arms over my chest as an anger began to rise within me. "I also wanted to say that I don't think it's fair of you to ask me to spend the rest of my life with you before I even know what it's like to be a vampire in the first place."

He snorted and shifted on his feet.

"C'mon Jinx, don't get all sullen on me," I sighed. "Why can't we just take baby steps? If anything, why don't you inject me with some of the venom and we'll go from there, yeah?" My words were to no use; he wasn't listening anymore.

I could tell that Jinx had been trying to keep his cool but he was finally about to explode. His jaw was still working and when I looked into his eyes, they were a glossy dark shade.

As I stared somewhat fearfully at Jinx, his chest huffed and it seemed like he was struggling to maintain control of himself. He growled out in broken words, "go back to the cabin before I say or do something that I regret Roxy."

Not needing any more encouragement, I turned heel and ran back to the cabin. Wetness began to prick at my eyes and thoughts of what I could have done differently raced around in my head. I should have said yes. There wasn't any way that we weren't going to end up together, was there? I already left my life for him. It wasn't like I could go back now. Why did he get so moody? He had been so good recently.

All of a sudden, I bounced off the back of Henry as I arrived at the cabin. He turned with a surprised expression. "Roxanne, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands. "Goodnight!" With that, I swept past him to find sanctuary in the four season porch. I angrily zipped my winter clothing off of my body and threw my boots to the floor. Alone and out of the hot gear, I allowed myself to sob silently, rocking back and forth on one of the couches.

Before long, the soft footsteps of Naomi whispered against the floor and a calming presence entered into the room. She didn't say anything as she slid next to me and wrapped her comforting arms around me. My friend slowly ran her fingers across my skin in comforting patterns.

I sniffled and buried my head in her chest and tried to choke back my tears. "I said no," my voice croaked out. "Oh Naomi why do I feel so terrible? Why did I say no to him? He's never going to speak to me again!" Clutching at her, I blinked and accepted a tissue that she magically handed to me.

"What happened dear?" Her warm words flowed into my ears. "Tell me so I can help you."

"H-he took me out for a walk and then we had a snowball fight and," I blew into the tissue, "and then all of a sudden he asked me to marry him but I've only known him for 6 months and I've liked him for less and I'm not ready for marriage and aren't you supposed to talk about it before you actually propose? So I told him no but not exactly and then he got really angry so I ran back here and oh god, life is over Naomi. I told him we should take it slow and and and-" I hiccuped and sank further in her arms. "Naomiii," I cried, "what do I dooo? Why does it always change from going extremely well to just plummeting down in a spiral of horribleness?"

"Oh sweetheart," Naomi rubbed my back. "It's not that bad. You'll get through this."

"I bet you never said no to someone proposing to you and you broke their heart."

Naomi couldn't help but laugh. "Don't be so over dramatic Rox. You did not break his heart, Jinx is just more fragile than he wants to admit sometimes, so he ends up getting angry at the emotions and not at the actual perpetrator." She patted me, "but don't you worry about it, you didn't do anything wrong honey. You shouldn't force yourself into things you aren't ready for, okay? Henry or I will talk to him to cool him down so that he understands, alright?" I nodded against her and blew into the tissue again. "Why don't we watch a movie, huh? Let's get our mind off of things we can't do anything about right now. We'll give each of you some space."

"Okay," my head nodded again.

"Why don't you get situated in the tv room and I'll go grab a movie or two for us that I brought with," Naomi ushered me into the other room and settled me upon one of the couches. "I'll be back before you can miss me." She winked away and was back in the room with me within five minutes.

"Now how does this thing work?" Naomi bent down by the dvd player and eventually got it popped open.

Across the house, I heard the sound of the front door opening from the inside and closing just as the first advertisement appeared on the screen. Naomi hopped onto the couch next to red puffy eyed me and threw a large blanket over both of our bodies.

We relaxed into each other as the feature finally started to play. Almost toward the end of the movie, my mind had totally transferred to the plot of the movie and Jinx was left behind in some dark, well probably light now, forest all by his lonesome. That was, until there was a hesitant knock on the door frame.

Both of us girls turned to see the dimly lit face of Jinx. There were light bags underneath his eyes and in the background I could hear Henry utter some words of encouragement to his friend. My face went flushed with red as I realized just how much our actions had inconvenienced Naomi and Henry's holiday.

"C-can I talk to you?" Jinx questioned, and for the first time I saw just how human he could be. He wasn't just the stoic, strong lover of a fairytale but he had feelings, too, just like I did.

I exchanged a glance with Naomi before nodding and she got up to make a space for Jinx. "Henry and I will be in the bedroom if you need us," she commented with a smile at me and turned the light on when she left.

At the abrupt change in light, my pupils shrunk and I had to blink away the difference. Jinx's eyes were repentant. "I'm sorry for over reacting. Henry talked to me and I think I was just surprised that you didn't say yes because I feel that we've been bonding lately." He continued to tell me what his thoughts were about the matter and I sat there listening.

Jinx moved around the far couch to the unused fireplace and sat on the ledge by it. I explained what I thought about marriage and our relationship to him as he opened the glass doors and struck a match. Light flared up on the stick. It moved to the logs already inside with a crackle and slowly the flame moved along the wood.

Taking the blanket with me, I walked over to the man and sat beside him. We fell asleep talking by the fire, the toasty heat healing us of our previous cold.


End file.
